Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May
A report suggesting an all-UK customs deal will be written into the legally binding agreement governing Britain's withdrawal from the EU to avoid the need for an Irish backstop is "speculation", Prime Minister Theresa May's office said.
The Sunday Times said the plan would avoid the need to treat Northern Ireland differently, which has been the main stumbling bloc to securing an agreement on Britain's exit from the bloc, due in March 2019.
Reuters reported on Friday that the EU has suggested that a backstop post-Brexit customs arrangement covering all of the UK could give mainland Britain some scope to set trade rules while keeping the province of Northern Ireland aligned with the EU.
May's cabinet will meet on Tuesday to discuss her plan, and she hopes there would be enough progress by Friday for the EU to announce a special summit, The Sunday Times said.
Preparations for a final deal are "far more advanced than previously disclosed", the report said, and will lead to a document of 50 pages or more being published.
Asked about the report, a spokesman at May's office said:
"This is all speculation. The Prime Minister has been clear that we are making good progress on the future relationship and 95 percent of the withdrawal agreement is now settled and negotiations are ongoing."
More than 70 business figures are calling for a public vote on the final terms of Britain's exit from the European Union, warning that the country faces "either a blindfold or a destructive hard Brexit", the newspaper reported.
Brexit has undermined the Good Friday Agreement which ended thirty years of violence in Northern Ireland, Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Saturday."Brexit has undermined the Good Friday Agreement and is fraying the relationship between Britain and Ireland," he told Irish state broadcaster RTE.The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland after Brexit has been one of the major sticking points in Britain's negotiations to leave the European Union in March next year."Anything that pulls the communities apart in Northern Ireland undermines the Good Friday Agreement, and anything that pulls Britain and Ireland apart undermines that relationship," Varadkar added. Sterling heads for second best week of 2018 on Brexit hopes, BoE signals
Irish PM says Brexit has undermined Good Friday Agreement
Sterling gained on Friday, putting it on course for its second best week of 2018 on optimism for a Brexit deal and signals from the Bank of England that if the exit from the European Union is smooth more interest rate hikes could be on the way.The pound enjoyed its best day of the year on Thursday as a market heavily short the currency rushed to adjust to the possibility that a Brexit deal will be clinched in the coming weeks - removing a major uncertainty overshadowing the economy and the BoE as it tries to bring inflation back to target ."Were it not for Brexit uncertainty, the Bank of England would probably have laid the groundwork today for its next rate hike," BNP Paribas analysts said in a note."Once the MPC (Monetary Policy Committee) gets the Brexit 'green light', we expect two hikes in 2019, in May and November – sooner, and by more, than markets expect."Money markets are not fully pricing in a full 25 basis point rate hike from current levels of 0.75 percent next year, however, underscoring investors' worries about whether a disorderly Brexit can be avoided.Sterling rose 0.3 percent to $1.3037, its highest since Oct. 23. It slipped 0.1 percent against the euro but remained near two-week highs after Thursday's huge jump.David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets, said that if the pound held above $1.30 "it could pave the way for $1.3250 to be tested", but if sterling drops again the currency may fall towards $1.2661.The British government and EU officials have played down hopes for an imminent Brexit deal, emphasising that while an agreement is close the two sides still have work to do.Any agreement with Brussels would then need to win approval from British parliamentarians before the Brexit date of March 29, a far from easy process given factions with Prime Minister Theresa May's Conservative party oppose her plans. Trade war hopes boost euro zone bond yields
Sterling heads for second best week of 2018 on Brexit hopes, BoE signals
The UK National Crime Agency (NCA) said on Thursday it had started an investigation into British businessman Arron Banks, who financed one of the main campaigns for Britain to leave the EU."This follows our acceptance of a referral of material from the Electoral Commission," the NCA said."While electoral law offences would not routinely fall within the NCA’s remit, the nature of the necessary inquiries and the potential for offences to have been committed other than under electoral law lead us to consider an NCA investigation appropriate in this instance."Banks, who ahead of the 2016 Brexit referendum financed Leave.EU, a campaign led by Nigel Farage, then the leader of the UK Independence Party, has faced questions in parliament about the source of his wealth.He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.Brexit campaigner Banks welcomes investigationArron Banks on Thursday welcomed a National Crime Agency (NCA) investigation and added that he had never received any foreign - or Russian - funding for one of the main campaigns for Britain to leave the EU."We welcome this investigation as it is an opportunity for us to clear up the matter," Banks told Reuters. "Rock holdings is a company I own and control and I’m a U.K. tax payer, no Russian or foreign money has ever come into it.""The electoral commission have said offences may have been committed but have provided no evidence," Banks said. "As usual the Electoral Commission is batting for the Remainers in parliament."PM May's spokesman says reports of UK-EU financial services deal are speculationUK, EU close to Brexit deal on financial services: UK official
UK National Crime Agency investigating Brexit-backer Arron Banks