UK 'must relax immigration for Australians in exchange for free trade deal'

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Britain will have to relax immigration rules for Australians if it wants to strike a free trade deal post-Brexit, the country’s high commissioner to London has said.

Alexander Downer said Australia would seek better access for business people before reaching a post-Brexit trade agreement with the UK.

Theresa May has made clear that she wants to reform the UK's relationship with the EU customs union so it can agree trade deals with countries from around the world after Brexit.

Australia is ready to reach a deal with Britain and it may take on more urgency given United States president Donald Trump's wish to pursue an "America first" strategy, raising doubts about a potential UK-US agreement.

Mr Downer told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We would want to see greater access for Australian businesspeople working in the UK and that's often been a part of free trade negotiations - it hasn't always been by the way, but it's often been part of our free trade negotiations."

He went on: "It might just make it a bit simpler actually, for example an Australian company that invests in the UK might want to bring some of its executives to the UK.

"That can be done with what are called Tier 2 visas but maybe that could be made a little bit easier, I suspect they would be the only sort of changes you'd be looking at."

Any negotiation over visa arrangements could be conducted separately but at the same time as a deal for the free movement of goods and services between the two nations, he suggested.

An Australia-UK agreement could be reached very quickly after Brexit, given that Canberra struck a deal with the US in eight months during George W Bush's presidency, he said.

Mr Downer said a similar timeframe could be realistic if Britain does not want to protect certain industries and revealed exploratory discussions had already taken place at many levels.

He said: "Obviously once the UK leaves the EU it can negotiate free trade agreements but not before then.

"But we can scope it out and we've provided a scoping paper to the British Government to explain what we think the scope of a free trade agreement should look like."

Mayor Sadiq Khan in stinging attack on Theresa May's Brexit plans

Political reporter(wp/es):

Sadiq Khan today launched a blistering attack on Theresa May’s plans for Brexit, warning that her tough stance could “rip Britain apart”.

The Mayor claimed the Prime Minister’s ‘hard Brexit’ strategy was to paper over splits in the Conservative party and not in the best interests of the country.

He said Britons risked being left to explain to future generations why they had put the country’s economy and prosperity at threat.  

It came after Mrs May warned Brussels in a major speech she would walk away from talks if offered a bad deal, as she set out her Brexit vision for the first time.

She confirmed Britain would leave the single market, hinted at a cap on European Union migrants and said the final Brexit deal would be put to a vote in Parliament.

But writing in the Standard, Mr Khan said: “A hard-line approach to Brexit may hold the Conservative Party together, but it could rip Britain apart.

“And if we continue on this path - towards a ‘hard Brexit’ – we risk having to explain to future generations why we knowingly put their economy, their prosperity and their place on the world stage in such peril.”

The Mayor accused the PM of “brushing away” the importance of securing privileged access to the single market which would be “critical” for London to flourish. 

In a speech at the global economic summit in Davos, he warned that without access to the EU trading bloc many businesses in the capital could struggle to survive.

“Securing privileged access to the single market must be the top priority for the negotiations. It’s critical for London. Nothing else will do. It can’t be brushed aside – as it was yesterday,” he was expected to say.

“The benefits of Britain retaining privileged access are real and tangible. Having access to the single market would mean the difference between businesses thriving and growing, or struggling to survive.”

The Mayor urged European businesses leaders to press their governments for a workable Brexit deal during his 24-hour visit to Davos - warning that a hard Brexit would be a “lose-lose” for the whole of the EU.

He was expected to meet heads of government including Erna Solberg, prime minister of Norway, which is a member of the single market but not the EU, as well as the chief executives of Siemens, Hitachi and Mastercard.

In a keynote speech hosted by Morgan Stanley, he said: “A ‘hard Brexit’ would cut Europe off from its only truly global financial centre. This would be bad news for Europe as well as Britain. So a hard Brexit really would be a lose-lose situation.

“Tell your political leaders that a ‘hard Brexit’ deal is not in the best interests of your company. This won’t be easy. But I’m confident that despite the Prime Minister’s rhetoric, there is still a sensible deal to be done.”

Student, 19, stabbed to death near Wembley Stadium

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A university student stabbed to death near Wembley Stadium has been named by police.

Djodjo Nsaka, 19, a business studies student from Streatham, was attacked in the early hours of Friday morning.

A post mortem has found that Mr Nsaka, who studied at Middlesex University, died from a single stab wound to the chest, Scotland Yard said.

He is believed to be the first teenager murdered on the streets of London this year.

Police were called to Fulton Road at around 1.15am on Friday following reports that a man had been assaulted.

Officers and London Ambulance Service fought to save Mr Nsaka but he died at the scene shortly afterwards.

An inquest into his death was yet to be set. A 20-year-old man was also treated for minor injuries.

The road, which is a few hundred yards from the stadium, was closed while forensic officers scoured the scene.

Scotland Yard said that a man in his 20s, who had been arrested on suspicion of murder, has been released with no further action.

Detectives from the Met's Homicide and Major Crime Command are leading the investigation.

Man stabbed in stomach in south-east London

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A man was rushed to hospital after being stabbed in the stomach in south-east London.

Police were called by the London Ambulance Service to reports a 36-year-old man had been stabbed in Austen Road, Erith, shortly after 5.20am on Tuesday.

He was found in a nearby road with a stab wound to his stomach and rushed to a south London hospital in a life threatening condition.

His injuries are no longer believed to be life threatening.

Police had initially been called at 5.20am to an address in Austen Road to reports that a woman had received a cut to her hand.

A Met Police spokesman said the 34-year-old woman and a teenage boy were arrested on suspicion of grievous bodily harm and currently remain in custody at a south London police station.

Piccadilly Circus billboards switched off as work begins on new state-of-the-art advertising screen

Pic:The advertising screens before they were switched off.
Staff reporter(wp/es):

The Piccadilly Lights were this morning turned off as major redevelopment work on the central London landmark began.

At about 8.30am on Monday, the Lights, the large advertising screens in Piccadilly Circus, first showed a montage of historic images before a countdown was started and the screens turned off.

The Lights have only been blank on a handful of occasions before - for the duration of the Second World War, Winston Churchill’s funeral in 1965 and Princess Diana’s funeral in 1997.

The screens will be replaced with one curved screen of the same size that will be the highest resolution LED display of its size in the world. The work is set to be finished by Autumn.

Six advertisers will share the screen, which will be able to live-stream video, show weather and sports results and social media feeds. 

Coca-Cola, which has had a advertising space at the Lights since 1954, has renewed its advertising deal at the Lights, with other brands yet to be announced. 

Vasiliki Arvaniti, Portfolio Manager at Land Securities, which has owned the Lights since the Seventies, said: “This is a huge day for Piccadilly Lights and though it will be a strange feeling to see them go dark, we’re incredibly excited about their future.”

Ros Morgan, Chief Executive Heart of London Business Alliance, said: “The light’s transformation into Europe’s largest single digital screen is a showcase of London’s innovation and will bring visitors an enhanced entertainment experience, whilst offering businesses a world-leading platform to engage with the 400 million people who visit the wider area each year.”

An estimated 100 million people pass through Piccadilly Circus and pass the lights annually. The first illuminated advertising space in Piccadilly Circus as a sign for Perrier which was installed in 1908.

£235m is left unused on Oyster cards..

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Money left on unused Oyster cards is increasing by £1 million a month and now stands at more than £235 million, official figures reveal today.

The number of “dormant” cards - those that have not been used for more than 12 months - has jumped to nearly 43.7 million, up two million since the end of June last year.

The figures sparked fresh demands for Transport for London (TfL) to make it easier for passengers to claim refunds.

The amount of money left on the cards has risen to nearly £236.6 million, with one of the reasons the 48-hour restriction on Oyster refunds. This means that if someone buys an Oyster card, pays the £5 deposit and puts money on it they can only claim a refund after 48 hours, which is hitting tourists and visitors to the capital.

The increase in contactless travel is another explanation.

Caroline Pidgeon, Liberal Democrat member of the London Assembly who highlighted the statistics, said: “Fourteen years since the start of Oyster the amount left on dormant Oyster cards has reached a staggering level with TfL now sitting on a massive cash pile of a quarter of a billion pounds.

“TfL should never forget that this is the public’s money they are holding and people should be able to reclaim it as easily as TfL take money from passengers in the first place.”

Ms Pidgeon added: “Ending the 48 hour restriction facing passengers before they can claim back their deposit and any remaining balance on a card is long overdue, and is just one of the many changes TfL need to make to ensure that people can easily get back their own money left on unused Oyster cards.”

A recent report by the watchdog London TravelWatch examining the impact of the Tube ticket offices closures recommended changes to the system including the removal of the 48-hour restriction.

It stated: “Passengers currently have to wait 48-hours from purchasing an Oyster card before being able to get back their deposit and any remaining balance on the card.

“This does not represent good customer practice especially for visitors to London who are only here for a short period of time.

“It should be possible for customers to get a refund on their Oyster card whenever required.”

Shashi Verma, TfL’s chief technology officer, said: “We’re committed to ensuring that our customers can get back the credit on their Oyster cards if that is what they want.

“That is why we regularly publish the amount of credit on cards and how people can obtain a refund whenever they wish.

“These can be obtained from any Tube station ticket machine, our Visitor Information Centres or by contacting our customer team on 0343 222 1234.”

Woman robbed in 'homophobic' attack outside Nando's restaurant in South London Denmark Hill

Pic:  A woman was mugged outside a Nando's restaurant in Denmark Hill
Crime reporter(wp/es):

A woman was grabbed by the neck and mugged during a homophobic attack outside a Nando’s restaurant in south London, police said.

The victim, a 37-year-old woman, was robbed outside the chicken restaurant in Denmark Hill late at night.

Scotland Yard she was approached by a group outside the restaurant between 10.15pm and 11.15pm on Friday, December 30.

Police said that one of the group, a woman, made homophobic slurs towards the victim before grabbing her around the neck and forcing her to hand over her belongings.

The suspect then threatened the victim and fled the scene.

Detectives from Lambeth Community Safety Unit are appealing for anyone who was in or around the area and may have seen the incident, or the suspect fleeing the scene, to contact police.

A 36-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of robbery in connection with the investigation.

She has been released on bail until late February pending further enquiries.