Month: March 2020

The UK should consider the trade-offs it is willing to make in a post-Brexit deal, European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen says. She said the closer the UK's access to the single market - which it is leaving - the more it must adhere to EU rules. But cabinet minister Michael Gove said the UK "would regain its economic and political independence" and any deal "would need to reflect […]

The government has responded to an EU call to "make up its mind" by revealing plans to publish a draft post-Brexit trade deal within the next nine days. David Frost, the prime minister's EU adviser who is leading the UK's negotiating effort, on Monday said he would unveil a draft free trade deal before next week's next round of talks with Brussels. This would be included among other "legal texts" […]

Is the new UK passport blue? Or is the colour really closer to black? The Home Office has issued pictures of the post-Brexit passport, describing it as a return to the "iconic blue" used for UK passports before 1988. Experts in the science of colour - and instant experts on social media - are unconvinced, saying they look more like black. But a Home Office spokesman says the colours of […]

An inquiry examining the impact of new customs arrangements on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland has been set up by a Westminster committee. The Brexit deal has major implications for Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland will still be part of the UK's customs territory at the end of the transition period but will also continue to follow EU customs rules. That is likely to mean new bureaucracy for trade […]