Britain's Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Dominic Raab
British and European Union negotiators are "closing in on workable solutions" to the outstanding issues in Brexit talks, Britain's Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab said after a phone call with EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier.
"While there remain some substantive differences we need to resolve, it is clear our teams are closing in on workable solutions to the outstanding issues in the Withdrawal Agreement, and are having productive discussions in the right spirit on the future relationship," Raab said.
"Looking ahead, we agreed to review the state of play in the negotiations following the informal meeting of heads of state or government of the European Union in Salzburg next Thursday, and we reiterated our willingness to devote the necessary time and energy to bring these negotiations to a successful conclusion."
Britain's electoral regulator misinterpreted the spending law when it allowed the main Brexit campaign to donate to a smaller, aligned group during the 2016 referendum campaign, London's High Court ruled on Friday.Britain's officially designated Brexit campaign group, Vote Leave, said the Electoral Commission had told the group it could donate to other Leave campaigners without having to count it against its own referendum expenses.But the High Court found that the Electoral Commission "misinterpreted the definition of 'referendum expenses'" in a way which was "inconsistent with both the language and the purpose of the legislation" in giving the advice.Jo Maugham, a lawyer and campaigner on the winning side of the case, said the decision was "coruscating" for the Commission, and that the main Remain campaign had not been given the same rights to make donations.'Bank of England prepared for wide range of Brexit outcomes'"What is now clear is that the Electoral Commission unlawfully tilted the playing field in the Referendum," he said in a statement.Vote Leave was separately fined by the Electoral Commission in July for co-ordinating its activities with the smaller campaign group, BeLeave, to pay digital services from Aggregate IQ, thereby exceeding spending limits. The campaign group refuted the findings.The Electoral Commission said Friday's ruling showed the court had backed up its July findings."The Court arrived at the same conclusion as the Commission did in its investigation - that Vote Leave should have accounted for the expenditure on the digital services firm, Aggregate IQ – although it found an additional reason for reaching that conclusion," the regulator said in a statement.EU leaders to discuss November Brexit summit next weekBut Vote Leave Chief Executive Matthew Elliott said the court's ruling undermined the Electoral Commission's earlier finding, adding that the campaign group would not have made the donation if they had not been advised that they could."The Electoral Commission's defeat in the High Court today has thrown electoral law for future elections and referendums into total chaos," he said in a statement."Either the Electoral Commission is wrong or the High Court is wrong."EU tells Britain it won't renegotiate Brexit divorce bill
UK court rules against electoral watchdog in Brexit spending row
Thousands of British prison officers walked out of their jobs on Friday, gathering outside jails to protest against what their union called unprecedented levels of violence and the failure of the government to make prisons safe.The government called on them to return to work, describing the protest as unlawful and the Prisons Officers' Association (POA) union said it had been threatened with court action.The state of prisons in Britain has made headlines in recent years. Inspectors warned on Thursday that inmates of Bedford jail in central England did not follow rules and were using drugs. Last month, the government took over the running of another prison for similar reasons.Prisons Minister Rory Stewart said officers should return to their duty stations in line with their obligations to the law and the prison service."These prison officers are putting their fellow staff and inmates at risk," he said in a statement.The POA said the walkout would last until its general secretary instructed them to do otherwise.The union, which has 28,000 members, wants the government to provide safe prisons, meet its demands for improving personal protective equipment and reduce levels of violence and overcrowding in prisons."The violence has been brought by a reduction in staffing levels," said Blessing Uwede, POA representative, at HMP Wormwood Scrubs in west London, where about 35 staff had walked out.The government said it was addressing POA concerns."Yesterday we doubled the prison sentence for anyone who assaults prison officers," it said in Stewart's statement. "We've also increased pay, provided tools such as body-worn cameras to increase security on the landings, and are investing 40 million pounds ($52 million) to improve the estate and tackle the drugs problem which is fuelling much of the violence.There were now also 3,500 new prison officers to help ease the burden, it added.
British prison officers protest against violence in jails
The Bank of England and Britain's largest banks are well prepared for a disorderly Brexit but uncertainty about the economic outlook is holding back pay growth, Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said on Friday.British media had reported late on Thursday that Carney had warned senior ministers earlier in the day that a chaotic Brexit could lead to house price falls of up to 35 percent over three years as well as spiralling interest rates.Carney did not address this prospect directly in his speech at Ireland's central bank, though these projections are similar to scenarios the BoE told banks last year to ensure they had guarded against."The Bank of England is well-prepared for whatever path the economy takes, including a wide range of potential Brexit outcomes," Carney said, sticking close to previous language on preparations for Brexit."We have used our stress test to ensure that the largest UK banks can continue to meet the needs of UK households and businesses even through a disorderly Brexit, however unlikely that may be. Our job, after all, is not to hope for the best but to plan for the worst," he added.UK finance minister says time running out on Brexit; BoE governor to stay on
'Bank of England prepared for wide range of Brexit outcomes'