A lasting rise in hate crimes has been observed across England, Wales and Northern Ireland has been reported in the second half of July, nearly a month after the EU referendum vote.&nbsp; 
 
Incidents of hate crimes in the United &nbsp;Kingdom remain significantly higher than they were a year ago, Guardian reported today. 
 
According to the National Police Chiefs&#39; Council report, there was an increase of 49 per cent in such incidents ( to 1,836) in the last week in July when compared with the previous year. The final week of July witnessed a record 58 per cent increase in recorded incidents to 1,787, the report says&nbsp; 
 
Racial abuse in Wales went up to 60 per cent over the EU referendum period, BBC Wales reported.&nbsp; 
 
The most recent data shows that there were over 1,384 incidents of hate crime in the third week of August.&nbsp; 
 
&ldquo;Many victims are still afraid to come forward and so the scale of attacks could be far higher than what is being reported. The UN said two weeks ago that the problem of underreporting hate crime persists in Britain and the government&rsquo;s own hate-crime strategy sets out to increase the reporting of hate crime, acknowledging one of the biggest challenges to the police in tackling it,&rdquo; Jack Dromey, a British Labour Party politician told the Guardian.&nbsp; 
 
Previously published figures reveal that while the increase in hate crime has continued, the level of increase has declined. There was a 46 per cent spike in hate crime immediately after the June 23 referendum.&nbsp; 
 
 
(WION)&nbsp;

'The final week of July witnessed a record 58 per cent increase in recorded incidents to 1,787'

A lasting rise in hate crimes has been observed across England, Wales and Northern Ireland has been reported in the second half of July, nearly a month after the EU referendum vote. Incidents of hate crimes in the United Kingdom remain significantly higher than they were a year ago, Guardian reported today. According to the National Police Chiefs' Council report, there was an increase of 49 per cent in such incidents ( to 1,836) in the last week in July when compared with the previous year. The final week of July witnessed a record 58 per cent increase in recorded incidents to 1,787, the report says Racial abuse in Wales went up to 60 per cent over the EU referendum period, BBC Wales reported. The most recent data shows that there were over 1,384 incidents of hate crime in the third week of August. “Many victims are still afraid to come forward and so the scale of attacks could be far higher than what is being reported. The UN said two weeks ago that the problem of underreporting hate crime persists in Britain and the government’s own hate-crime strategy sets out to increase the reporting of hate crime, acknowledging one of the biggest challenges to the police in tackling it,” Jack Dromey, a British Labour Party politician told the Guardian. Previously published figures reveal that while the increase in hate crime has continued, the level of increase has declined. There was a 46 per cent spike in hate crime immediately after the June 23 referendum. (WION)

Lasting rise in hate crimes in UK after Brexit

The British government pledged today to match European Union (EU) funding for farmers, universities and infrastructure projects after Britain leaves the bloc, to stem fears that key sectors will be left struggling. 
 
The commitment, intended to address uncertainty over the impact of the June 23 vote for Brexit, could cost around &pound;4.5 billion ($5.8 billion, 5.2 billion Euros) a year, finance minister Philip Hammond said. 
 
The commitment applies to agricultural funds until 2020, structural and investment projects signed before the government&#39;s budget update this autumn, and university bids won under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. 
 
&quot;We recognise that many organisations across the UK which are in receipt of EU funding, or expect to start receiving funding, want reassurance about the flow of funding they will receive,&quot; Hammond said in a statement. 
 
&quot;That is why, I am confirming that structural and investment funds projects signed before the Autumn Statement and Horizon research funding granted before we leave the EU will be guaranteed by the Treasury after we leave. 
 
&quot;The government will also match the current level of agricultural funding until 2020, providing certainty to our agricultural community, which play a vital role in our country.&quot; 
 
The cost will depend on the level of applications for funds, and on when Britain leaves the EU. 
 
The government has said it will not trigger the two-year withdrawal process before the end of this year. 
 
&quot;Around about &pound;4.5 billion a year would be the level we would expect,&quot; Hammond said. 
 
Campaigners for Britain to stay in the EU in the June 23 referendum had highlighted the funding benefits of membership to key sectors such a farming and research. 
 
But the Brexit camp said any shortfall could be covered by ending Britain&#39;s contributions to the EU budget, which stood at about &pound;12.9 billion in 2015, after the rebate. 
 
Projects covered by the government&#39;s guarantee include a new facility at the University of Manchester to develop research into graphene -- a material which scientists say could transform consumer electronics -- using &pound;5 million from the European Regional Development Fund. 
 
(AFP)

The commitment, intended to address uncertainty over the impact of the June 23 vote for Brexit, could cost around ?4.5 billion

The British government pledged today to match European Union (EU) funding for farmers, universities and infrastructure projects after Britain leaves the bloc, to stem fears that key sectors will be left struggling. The commitment, intended to address uncertainty over the impact of the June 23 vote for Brexit, could cost around £4.5 billion ($5.8 billion, 5.2 billion Euros) a year, finance minister Philip Hammond said. The commitment applies to agricultural funds until 2020, structural and investment projects signed before the government's budget update this autumn, and university bids won under the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. "We recognise that many organisations across the UK which are in receipt of EU funding, or expect to start receiving funding, want reassurance about the flow of funding they will receive," Hammond said in a statement. "That is why, I am confirming that structural and investment funds projects signed before the Autumn Statement and Horizon research funding granted before we leave the EU will be guaranteed by the Treasury after we leave. "The government will also match the current level of agricultural funding until 2020, providing certainty to our agricultural community, which play a vital role in our country." The cost will depend on the level of applications for funds, and on when Britain leaves the EU. The government has said it will not trigger the two-year withdrawal process before the end of this year. "Around about £4.5 billion a year would be the level we would expect," Hammond said. Campaigners for Britain to stay in the EU in the June 23 referendum had highlighted the funding benefits of membership to key sectors such a farming and research. But the Brexit camp said any shortfall could be covered by ending Britain's contributions to the EU budget, which stood at about £12.9 billion in 2015, after the rebate. Projects covered by the government's guarantee include a new facility at the University of Manchester to develop research into graphene -- a material which scientists say could transform consumer electronics -- using £5 million from the European Regional Development Fund. (AFP)

United Kingdom vows to match EU funds, farm subsidies post Brexit

New signing Sadio Mane scored one goal and made another as Liverpool slickly defeated Barcelona 4-0 in a one-sided friendly match at a sun-soaked Wembley on Saturday. 
 
A 34 million pounds ($44.5 million, 40.1 million euros) capture from Southampton, Mane struck a 15th-minute opener and then supplied the cross from which former Liverpool player Javier Mascherano scored an own goal. 
 
Divock Origi added a third seconds later and substitute Marko Grujic chipped in with a stoppage-time header as Jurgen Klopp&#39;s side registered their sixth win in eight pre-season games. 
 
&quot;I`m happy with the result and with a lot of the game,&quot; said Klopp, who lost James Milner to a first-half heel injury. 
 
&quot;I don&#39;t want to over-estimate this game, but it&#39;s still good for us. We didn&#39;t think that we were lower than Barcelona before the game and we don&#39;t think that we&#39;re higher than them after the game.&quot; 
 
Liverpool play Mainz, one of Klopp&#39;s former clubs, in a friendly in Germany on Sunday before tackling Arsenal in their Premier League opener next weekend. 
 
Barcelona&#39;s defeat meant that Paris Saint-Germain won the International Champions Cup friendly tournament for the second year running. 
 
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was missing Neymar, who is on duty with hosts Brazil at the Olympics, but fielded both former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, who hit the post in the first half. 
 
Barca play Sampdoria at the Camp Nou in their final pre-season friendly on Wednesday and face Sevilla in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on August 14. 
 
&quot;From the beginning we saw two teams with completely different rhythms,&quot; said Luis Enrique. 
 
&quot;It was definitely not our best day. But there&#39;s enough days for us to prepare and there&#39;s no doubt we&#39;ll be competitive.&quot; 
 
The glamour game drew 89,845 spectators to Wembley - the stadium&#39;s second-highest attendance - and it was Liverpool&#39;s fans, comfortably in the majority, who went home with smiles on their faces. 
 
With seven friendly matches behind them to Barcelona&#39;s two, Liverpool were the sharper team and they took the lead with a slick goal. 
 
After winning possession on halfway, Adam Lallana surged forward and exchanged passes with Roberto Firmino before teeing up Mane, whose rising shot beat goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. 
 
Liverpool had to weather a succession of Barcelona chances before half-time. 
 
Suarez, facing his former club for the first time, teed up Messi to roll a shot against the right-hand post, while Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved from Arda Turan and Suarez. 
 
Milner, who announced his England retirement on Friday, was again deployed at left-back for Liverpool, but had to give way to Alberto Moreno before half-time. Klopp said he would undergo a scan on Sunday. 
 
Within three minutes of kick-off in the second half, the game was as good as over. 
 
In the 47th minute, Origi&#39;s flick released Mane and his low cross from the right was bundled into the net by Mascherano. 
 
Barely a minute later, Kevin Stewart caught Jeremy Mathieu dawdling on the ball and freed fellow half-time substitute Origi, who coolly beat Barcelona replacement goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. 
 
Grujic, signed from Red Star Belgrade in January, put the cherry on the cake in added time, meeting fellow Serbian Lazar Markovic&#39;s scooped pass with a fine header that looped over Bravo. 
 
(AFP)

Sadio Mane struck a 15th-minute opener and then supplied the cross from which ex-Liverpool player Javier Mascherano scored an own goal

New signing Sadio Mane scored one goal and made another as Liverpool slickly defeated Barcelona 4-0 in a one-sided friendly match at a sun-soaked Wembley on Saturday. A 34 million pounds ($44.5 million, 40.1 million euros) capture from Southampton, Mane struck a 15th-minute opener and then supplied the cross from which former Liverpool player Javier Mascherano scored an own goal. Divock Origi added a third seconds later and substitute Marko Grujic chipped in with a stoppage-time header as Jurgen Klopp's side registered their sixth win in eight pre-season games. "I`m happy with the result and with a lot of the game," said Klopp, who lost James Milner to a first-half heel injury. "I don't want to over-estimate this game, but it's still good for us. We didn't think that we were lower than Barcelona before the game and we don't think that we're higher than them after the game." Liverpool play Mainz, one of Klopp's former clubs, in a friendly in Germany on Sunday before tackling Arsenal in their Premier League opener next weekend. Barcelona's defeat meant that Paris Saint-Germain won the International Champions Cup friendly tournament for the second year running. Barcelona coach Luis Enrique was missing Neymar, who is on duty with hosts Brazil at the Olympics, but fielded both former Liverpool striker Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi, who hit the post in the first half. Barca play Sampdoria at the Camp Nou in their final pre-season friendly on Wednesday and face Sevilla in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on August 14. "From the beginning we saw two teams with completely different rhythms," said Luis Enrique. "It was definitely not our best day. But there's enough days for us to prepare and there's no doubt we'll be competitive." The glamour game drew 89,845 spectators to Wembley - the stadium's second-highest attendance - and it was Liverpool's fans, comfortably in the majority, who went home with smiles on their faces. With seven friendly matches behind them to Barcelona's two, Liverpool were the sharper team and they took the lead with a slick goal. After winning possession on halfway, Adam Lallana surged forward and exchanged passes with Roberto Firmino before teeing up Mane, whose rising shot beat goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Liverpool had to weather a succession of Barcelona chances before half-time. Suarez, facing his former club for the first time, teed up Messi to roll a shot against the right-hand post, while Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet saved from Arda Turan and Suarez. Milner, who announced his England retirement on Friday, was again deployed at left-back for Liverpool, but had to give way to Alberto Moreno before half-time. Klopp said he would undergo a scan on Sunday. Within three minutes of kick-off in the second half, the game was as good as over. In the 47th minute, Origi's flick released Mane and his low cross from the right was bundled into the net by Mascherano. Barely a minute later, Kevin Stewart caught Jeremy Mathieu dawdling on the ball and freed fellow half-time substitute Origi, who coolly beat Barcelona replacement goalkeeper Claudio Bravo. Grujic, signed from Red Star Belgrade in January, put the cherry on the cake in added time, meeting fellow Serbian Lazar Markovic's scooped pass with a fine header that looped over Bravo. (AFP)

Liverpool defeats Barcelona 4-0 at Wembley

More than 6,000 hate crimes have been reported to police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland after Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU) last month, latest figures released this week show.&nbsp; 
 
In the four weeks since June 16, as many as 6,193 offences had been reported across the UK, with the most common crimes being harassment, assault, verbal abuse and spitting, the UK&#39;s National Police Chief&#39;s Council said. 
 
&quot;Following increase in hate crime seen after the EU referendum, police forces have been taking a robust approach to these crimes and we are pleased to see the numbers of incidents have begun to fall,&quot; said assistant chief constable Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs&#39; Council lead for hate crime. 
 
&quot;Clearly any hate crime is unacceptable and these numbers are still far too high. We remain committed to helping people feel safe and secure about being themselves as they go about their lives so police officers will continue to be out around the country engaging with communities and picking up and dealing with tensions and problems,&quot; he said. 
 
There was a slight fall in reports in the first half of July compared with an initial spike in the days before and after the 23 June Brexit vote, police chiefs said. 
 
But the overall level of racist and hate related incidents was up 20 per cent on the same period in July 2015. 
 
Following the vote to leave the European Union, there has been a spike in the number of attacks on migrants and ethnic minorities. 
 
Muslim people and Eastern Europeans reported they had been particularly targeted with the result. 
 
Immigration was one of the most prevalent and divisive issues discussed during the campaign, with the prospect of controlling migration one of the key topics that is believed to have swung the vote in favour of Brexit.&nbsp; 
 
(PTI)&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

A spike in the number of attacks on migrants and ethnic minorities has been reported

More than 6,000 hate crimes have been reported to police in England, Wales and Northern Ireland after Britain voted to leave the European Union (EU) last month, latest figures released this week show. In the four weeks since June 16, as many as 6,193 offences had been reported across the UK, with the most common crimes being harassment, assault, verbal abuse and spitting, the UK's National Police Chief's Council said. "Following increase in hate crime seen after the EU referendum, police forces have been taking a robust approach to these crimes and we are pleased to see the numbers of incidents have begun to fall," said assistant chief constable Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for hate crime. "Clearly any hate crime is unacceptable and these numbers are still far too high. We remain committed to helping people feel safe and secure about being themselves as they go about their lives so police officers will continue to be out around the country engaging with communities and picking up and dealing with tensions and problems," he said. There was a slight fall in reports in the first half of July compared with an initial spike in the days before and after the 23 June Brexit vote, police chiefs said. But the overall level of racist and hate related incidents was up 20 per cent on the same period in July 2015. Following the vote to leave the European Union, there has been a spike in the number of attacks on migrants and ethnic minorities. Muslim people and Eastern Europeans reported they had been particularly targeted with the result. Immigration was one of the most prevalent and divisive issues discussed during the campaign, with the prospect of controlling migration one of the key topics that is believed to have swung the vote in favour of Brexit. (PTI)

UK records 6,193 post-Brexit hate crimes

While British politicians have spent the month since the EU referendum in a whirl of resignations, recriminations and political backstabbings, civil servants have been quietly beginning the mammoth task of implementing Brexit. 
 
Unpicking 43 years of EU laws and regulations and forging new alliances outside the 28-nation bloc arguably represents the biggest challenge for Whitehall -- as the civil service is collectively known -- since World War II. 
 
 
What is the strategy&nbsp; 
 
Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to implement the June 23 referendum vote to leave the EU -- but what this means in practice is not yet clear. 
 
In talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande this week, she said she would not launch the formal two-year exit process before the end of this year, to give the government time to formulate its position. 
 
It will be up to the civil service to draw up options in terms of Britain&#39;s withdrawal from the EU, its future relationship with European allies and new trade deals. 
 
Issues at stake range from the status of EU citizens in Britain and Britons living on the continent, to whether Britain will want continued access to the EU single market. 
 
There are also questions over what happens to British recipients of key EU programmes such as agricultural subsidies and scientific research funding. 
 
Which ministers are in charge? 
 
Three ministers will help shape Britain&#39;s new future outside the EU -- Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Minister for Exiting the European Union David Davis and Minister for International Trade Liam Fox. 
 
They all campaigned to leave the bloc in the referendum, but as individuals they have clashed in the past. 
 
May, who campaigned to stay in the EU, will maintain control by personally chairing a Brexit cabinet group. 
 
But leaving the EU will impact on almost everything in government, and May has told all her cabinet ministers that they have a responsibility to &quot;make Brexit work&quot;. 
 
Who is leading Brexit talks? 
 
The new Department for Exiting the European Union will oversee preparations on leaving the bloc and support the prime minister in negotiations for the divorce. 
 
It will also lead work on establishing new ties with EU nations and consulting with those involved, from the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to business and trade union leaders. 
 
Oliver Robbins, a career civil servant with experience at the interior and finance ministries, was appointed to run the department in one of former prime minister David Cameron&#39;s final acts of office. 
 
The department is currently based in the Cabinet Office at number nine Downing Street, next door to May&#39;s office, and has just 40 staff. 
 
It intends to expand to about 200, taking some staff from the Foreign Office and Britain&#39;s current team in Brussels. 
 
What about trade? 
 
The new Department for International Trade, led by Fox, is charged with formulating a new trade policy outside the EU. 
 
Informal talks have already begun with Canada and Australia, although Britain cannot sign any new deals until it formally relinquishes its EU membership. 
 
Officials have said they are aiming for a withdrawal in early 2019. 
 
A major problem is Britain&#39;s lack of trade negotiators. 
 
Since 1972, it has relied on the EU to conduct all deals and has only 12 to 20 serving officials with any experience of trade negotiations, according to one former civil servant. 
 
If it decides to leave the EU single market, Britain must negotiate a free trade agreement with the bloc as well as with non-EU nations. 
 
The government aims to have up to 300 specialist trade staff by the end of the year. 
 
What is the cost? 
 
All in all, Dominic Cook, associate fellow of the Said Business School in Oxford, estimates that up to 10,000 staff could be required to implement Brexit. 
 
There are currently more than 1,000 British nationals working for the European Commission, and efforts will likely be made to try to lure some of them back. 
 
But government will also likely need to turn to the private sector, with management consultancy firm McKinsey already working with the Brexit ministry. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s going to cost billions,&quot; Cook told The Times. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

Unpicking 43 years of EU regulations, forging new alliances outside 28-nation bloc arguably represents the biggest challenge for Whitehall

While British politicians have spent the month since the EU referendum in a whirl of resignations, recriminations and political backstabbings, civil servants have been quietly beginning the mammoth task of implementing Brexit. Unpicking 43 years of EU laws and regulations and forging new alliances outside the 28-nation bloc arguably represents the biggest challenge for Whitehall -- as the civil service is collectively known -- since World War II. What is the strategy Prime Minister Theresa May has promised to implement the June 23 referendum vote to leave the EU -- but what this means in practice is not yet clear. In talks with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande this week, she said she would not launch the formal two-year exit process before the end of this year, to give the government time to formulate its position. It will be up to the civil service to draw up options in terms of Britain's withdrawal from the EU, its future relationship with European allies and new trade deals. Issues at stake range from the status of EU citizens in Britain and Britons living on the continent, to whether Britain will want continued access to the EU single market. There are also questions over what happens to British recipients of key EU programmes such as agricultural subsidies and scientific research funding. Which ministers are in charge? Three ministers will help shape Britain's new future outside the EU -- Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, Minister for Exiting the European Union David Davis and Minister for International Trade Liam Fox. They all campaigned to leave the bloc in the referendum, but as individuals they have clashed in the past. May, who campaigned to stay in the EU, will maintain control by personally chairing a Brexit cabinet group. But leaving the EU will impact on almost everything in government, and May has told all her cabinet ministers that they have a responsibility to "make Brexit work". Who is leading Brexit talks? The new Department for Exiting the European Union will oversee preparations on leaving the bloc and support the prime minister in negotiations for the divorce. It will also lead work on establishing new ties with EU nations and consulting with those involved, from the devolved governments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to business and trade union leaders. Oliver Robbins, a career civil servant with experience at the interior and finance ministries, was appointed to run the department in one of former prime minister David Cameron's final acts of office. The department is currently based in the Cabinet Office at number nine Downing Street, next door to May's office, and has just 40 staff. It intends to expand to about 200, taking some staff from the Foreign Office and Britain's current team in Brussels. What about trade? The new Department for International Trade, led by Fox, is charged with formulating a new trade policy outside the EU. Informal talks have already begun with Canada and Australia, although Britain cannot sign any new deals until it formally relinquishes its EU membership. Officials have said they are aiming for a withdrawal in early 2019. A major problem is Britain's lack of trade negotiators. Since 1972, it has relied on the EU to conduct all deals and has only 12 to 20 serving officials with any experience of trade negotiations, according to one former civil servant. If it decides to leave the EU single market, Britain must negotiate a free trade agreement with the bloc as well as with non-EU nations. The government aims to have up to 300 specialist trade staff by the end of the year. What is the cost? All in all, Dominic Cook, associate fellow of the Said Business School in Oxford, estimates that up to 10,000 staff could be required to implement Brexit. There are currently more than 1,000 British nationals working for the European Commission, and efforts will likely be made to try to lure some of them back. But government will also likely need to turn to the private sector, with management consultancy firm McKinsey already working with the Brexit ministry. "It's going to cost billions," Cook told The Times. (AFP)

Preparing for EU divorce:  UK faces monumental task

French President Francois Hollande on Thursday told Britain it would have to choose between access to the single market and the free movement of people, when it begins its negotiations on leaving the European Union. 
 
The French leader accepted Britain&#39;s right to delay formal exit talks, but described the timing of its departure as &quot;the sooner the better&quot;, following the country&#39;s shock vote to leave last month. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s the most crucial point... Britain will have to choose: stay in the single market and accept free movement or have another status,&quot; he said without elaborating on the latter option. 
 
Speaking after talks in Paris with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Hollande took a tougher line than German chancellor Angela Merkel a day earlier in Berlin. 
 
&quot;The United Kingdom has decided to leave the European Union. It&#39;s their choice, it&#39;s their responsibility and we respect that decision.... There can be no discussions, no pre-negotiation before the negotiation,&quot; Hollande told a joint news conference with May. 
 
On the timing for the talks, Hollande acknowledged that, Britain would need time to prepare a negotiating position. 
 
&quot;There can be preparations for this negotiation,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;But I repeat. The sooner the better, it&#39;s in the common interest, of Europe, the United Kingdom, and our economies,&quot; he added. 
 
Encouraging resilience 
 
May said she was committed to achieving a deal that reflected the sentiments expressed by most Britons in the June 23 referendum. 
 
&quot;The message the British people gave in their vote for the UK to leave the EU had a very clear message: that we should introduce some controls to the movement of individuals from countries in the European Union into the UK. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m clear the government should deliver and will deliver on that for the British people. 
 
&quot;But we also want to get the right deal on trade in goods and services,&quot; she said, calling it a matter of importance to both Britain and its EU partners. 
 
May arrived in Paris a day after meeting Merkel in Berlin. 
 
The Conservative leader repeated what she told Merkel, namely, that she would not trigger the two-year EU exit process &quot;before the end of the year&quot;. 
 
Brexit aside she and Hollande were at pains to emphasise the entente between their countries. 
 
A week after the massacre in Nice, May said Britain stood &quot;shoulder to shoulder&quot; as &quot;a great ally and friend&quot;, while Hollande said Franco-British ties &quot;will never come undone&quot;. 
 
Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union sent shockwaves through the global economy and sparked political turmoil at home. 
 
European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi struck a reassuring tone, however, in remarks following the ECB&#39;s regular policy-setting meeting. 
 
&quot;After the UK referendum, Euro area financial markets have weathered the spike in uncertainty and volatility with encouraging resilience,&quot; Draghi said. 
 
On Wednesday, speaking on her first foreign trip since taking office in the wake of the seismic vote, May told Merkel that her government planned on a &quot;sensible and orderly departure&quot; from the EU. 
 
Merkel, who is expected to play a pivotal role in the Brexit talks along with France, said it was in the interests of all that Britain had a &quot;well-defined position&quot; before the talks began. 
 
The Brexit talks are expected to hinge on Britain&#39;s desire to restrict immigration by EU citizens, but still retain vital access to the EU&#39;s single market. 
 
In the UK, EU immigration was the most hotly-debated issue of the referendum campaign. 
 
Brexit campaigners argued that the hundreds of thousands of EU immigrants arriving in Britain every year have pushed down wages for low-paid Britons and overburdened public services. 
 
Unique concerns 
 
Earlier on Thursday Hollande held talks in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. 
 
In a joint statement with Kenny he said there should be &quot;a balance of rights and obligations, including in respect of the four freedoms&quot;, referring to the free movement of goods, services, capital and people in the EU. 
 
Ireland&#39;s concerns revolve mainly around the future of its lucrative exports to Britain, and its border with British-ruled Northern Ireland, which would be the EU&#39;s only land border with Britain once it has left. 
 
&quot;Ireland and France are the UK&#39;s nearest neighbours, with significant and complex economic, human, cultural and historical links,&quot; Kenny and Hollande said. 
 
&quot;In consequence, both countries have specific and indeed unique concerns to be addressed in future negotiations,&quot; they said. 
 
Britain on Wednesday took the first step towards Brexit by announcing it was relinquishing its six-month EU presidency which had been due to start in July 2017 and will be taken up by Estonia instead. 
 
(AFP)

UK will not begin the EU exit operation 'before the end of the year', Prime Minister Theresa May reiterated

French President Francois Hollande on Thursday told Britain it would have to choose between access to the single market and the free movement of people, when it begins its negotiations on leaving the European Union. The French leader accepted Britain's right to delay formal exit talks, but described the timing of its departure as "the sooner the better", following the country's shock vote to leave last month. "It's the most crucial point... Britain will have to choose: stay in the single market and accept free movement or have another status," he said without elaborating on the latter option. Speaking after talks in Paris with British Prime Minister Theresa May, Hollande took a tougher line than German chancellor Angela Merkel a day earlier in Berlin. "The United Kingdom has decided to leave the European Union. It's their choice, it's their responsibility and we respect that decision.... There can be no discussions, no pre-negotiation before the negotiation," Hollande told a joint news conference with May. On the timing for the talks, Hollande acknowledged that, Britain would need time to prepare a negotiating position. "There can be preparations for this negotiation," he said. "But I repeat. The sooner the better, it's in the common interest, of Europe, the United Kingdom, and our economies," he added. Encouraging resilience May said she was committed to achieving a deal that reflected the sentiments expressed by most Britons in the June 23 referendum. "The message the British people gave in their vote for the UK to leave the EU had a very clear message: that we should introduce some controls to the movement of individuals from countries in the European Union into the UK. "I'm clear the government should deliver and will deliver on that for the British people. "But we also want to get the right deal on trade in goods and services," she said, calling it a matter of importance to both Britain and its EU partners. May arrived in Paris a day after meeting Merkel in Berlin. The Conservative leader repeated what she told Merkel, namely, that she would not trigger the two-year EU exit process "before the end of the year". Brexit aside she and Hollande were at pains to emphasise the entente between their countries. A week after the massacre in Nice, May said Britain stood "shoulder to shoulder" as "a great ally and friend", while Hollande said Franco-British ties "will never come undone". Britain's vote to leave the European Union sent shockwaves through the global economy and sparked political turmoil at home. European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi struck a reassuring tone, however, in remarks following the ECB's regular policy-setting meeting. "After the UK referendum, Euro area financial markets have weathered the spike in uncertainty and volatility with encouraging resilience," Draghi said. On Wednesday, speaking on her first foreign trip since taking office in the wake of the seismic vote, May told Merkel that her government planned on a "sensible and orderly departure" from the EU. Merkel, who is expected to play a pivotal role in the Brexit talks along with France, said it was in the interests of all that Britain had a "well-defined position" before the talks began. The Brexit talks are expected to hinge on Britain's desire to restrict immigration by EU citizens, but still retain vital access to the EU's single market. In the UK, EU immigration was the most hotly-debated issue of the referendum campaign. Brexit campaigners argued that the hundreds of thousands of EU immigrants arriving in Britain every year have pushed down wages for low-paid Britons and overburdened public services. Unique concerns Earlier on Thursday Hollande held talks in Dublin with Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny. In a joint statement with Kenny he said there should be "a balance of rights and obligations, including in respect of the four freedoms", referring to the free movement of goods, services, capital and people in the EU. Ireland's concerns revolve mainly around the future of its lucrative exports to Britain, and its border with British-ruled Northern Ireland, which would be the EU's only land border with Britain once it has left. "Ireland and France are the UK's nearest neighbours, with significant and complex economic, human, cultural and historical links," Kenny and Hollande said. "In consequence, both countries have specific and indeed unique concerns to be addressed in future negotiations," they said. Britain on Wednesday took the first step towards Brexit by announcing it was relinquishing its six-month EU presidency which had been due to start in July 2017 and will be taken up by Estonia instead. (AFP)

Choose free trade or 'another' status, Hollande tells Britain

British police said today there had been almost 6,200 hate crimes reported in the last month following the vote to leave the European Union in a referendum where immigration had been a key issue. In the four weeks from June 16, police forces across the country said 6,193 offences had been reported, with the most common crimes being harassment, assault and other violence such as verbal abuse or spitting. 
 
Britons voted on June 23 to exit the EU following bitter and deeply divisive campaigning in which the control of immigration was one of the main arguments of those who supported leaving the bloc. 
 
Since the result was declared, Muslims and Eastern Europeans say they have been particularly targeted. The latest figures showed there were 3001 offences in the first two weeks of July, down six per cent compared to the previous fortnight, but still 20 per cent higher than the same period last year.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Following increases in hate crime seen after the EU referendum, police forces have been taking a robust approach to these crimes and we are pleased to see the numbers of incidents have begun to fall,&quot; said Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs&#39; Council spokesman on hate crimes. &quot;Clearly any hate crime is unacceptable and these numbers are still far too high.&quot; 
 
Critics of the &quot;Leave&quot; campaign say its focus on immigration helped stoke xenophobia and racism, an accusation its leaders reject. A week before the vote, opposition Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, a strong supporter of remaining in the EU, was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency in northern England. 
 
(Reuters)

Since the result was declared, Muslims and Eastern Europeans say they have been particularly targeted

British police said today there had been almost 6,200 hate crimes reported in the last month following the vote to leave the European Union in a referendum where immigration had been a key issue. In the four weeks from June 16, police forces across the country said 6,193 offences had been reported, with the most common crimes being harassment, assault and other violence such as verbal abuse or spitting. Britons voted on June 23 to exit the EU following bitter and deeply divisive campaigning in which the control of immigration was one of the main arguments of those who supported leaving the bloc. Since the result was declared, Muslims and Eastern Europeans say they have been particularly targeted. The latest figures showed there were 3001 offences in the first two weeks of July, down six per cent compared to the previous fortnight, but still 20 per cent higher than the same period last year. "Following increases in hate crime seen after the EU referendum, police forces have been taking a robust approach to these crimes and we are pleased to see the numbers of incidents have begun to fall," said Mark Hamilton, the National Police Chiefs' Council spokesman on hate crimes. "Clearly any hate crime is unacceptable and these numbers are still far too high." Critics of the "Leave" campaign say its focus on immigration helped stoke xenophobia and racism, an accusation its leaders reject. A week before the vote, opposition Labour lawmaker Jo Cox, a strong supporter of remaining in the EU, was shot and stabbed to death in her constituency in northern England. (Reuters)

UK police report almost 6,200 hate crimes in month after Brexit vote

Gold saw its biggest one-day fall in three weeks yesterday as global equities rallied on easing political uncertainty in Britain and hopes for more economic stimulus, which in turn curbed demand for assets perceived as safe havens. 
 
Spot gold fell as much as 1.9 pe rcent to $1,329.75 an ounce and was down 1.6 pct at $1,332.86 by 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 GMT).&nbsp; 
The most active US gold futures for August delivery settled down 1.6 per cent at $1,335.30 per ounce.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;Tensions in Britain are easing for now, as the country will soon have a new Prime Minister,&quot; ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto de Casa said, referring to incoming Prime Minister, Theresa May, who will replace David Cameron on Wednesday. 
 
&quot;With the British pound gaining some ground, demand for gold and other safe havens is decreasing,&quot; he said. 
 
Gold has gained about $100 an ounce since Britain voted recently to leave the European Union, with worried investors piling their cash into safe-haven assets.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The UK has a leader and we almost have the outlines of a plan,&quot; said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist for US Bank Wealth&nbsp;Management in Seattle, describing a &quot;risk-on day&quot; pressuring prices despite a weak U.S. dollar. 
 
Profit-taking and new highs in the US stock market also weighed on bullion, Haworth said. 
 
Major US stock indexes set record intraday highs on Tuesday as optimism about the world economy and upbeat corporate results from Alcoa boosted risk appetite, while European shares rose for a fourth straight day.&nbsp; 
 
Japan&#39;s ruling coalition fanned expectations of more fiscal stimulus, while the Bank of England could cut rates as soon as Thursday following its monthly policy meeting. 
 
&quot;The additional stimulus packages will continue to create a challenging environment for investors looking for a return because they are not getting it through bonds and as long as we have that scenario, then the alternatives are currently stocks but also precious metals,&quot; 
Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. 
 
Markets were also assessing whether the latest US jobs data, which was stronger than expected, has boosted the prospects for an interest rate increase by the US Federal Reserve. 
 
The European Central Bank will not ease monetary policy any further at its meeting next week, according to an overwhelming majority of respondents in a Reuters poll of euro money market traders. 
Silver was down 0.65 per cent at $20.13 an ounce.&nbsp; 
 
Platinum fell for the first time in two weeks, down 1.14 per cent at $1,087. Palladium rose 1 per cent to $627.50. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Gold has gained about $100 an ounce since Brexit but UK is now hoping for more economic stimulus?as it welcomes new Prime Minister

Gold saw its biggest one-day fall in three weeks yesterday as global equities rallied on easing political uncertainty in Britain and hopes for more economic stimulus, which in turn curbed demand for assets perceived as safe havens. Spot gold fell as much as 1.9 pe rcent to $1,329.75 an ounce and was down 1.6 pct at $1,332.86 by 2:20 p.m. EDT (1820 GMT). The most active US gold futures for August delivery settled down 1.6 per cent at $1,335.30 per ounce. "Tensions in Britain are easing for now, as the country will soon have a new Prime Minister," ActivTrades chief analyst Carlo Alberto de Casa said, referring to incoming Prime Minister, Theresa May, who will replace David Cameron on Wednesday. "With the British pound gaining some ground, demand for gold and other safe havens is decreasing," he said. Gold has gained about $100 an ounce since Britain voted recently to leave the European Union, with worried investors piling their cash into safe-haven assets. "The UK has a leader and we almost have the outlines of a plan," said Rob Haworth, senior investment strategist for US Bank Wealth Management in Seattle, describing a "risk-on day" pressuring prices despite a weak U.S. dollar. Profit-taking and new highs in the US stock market also weighed on bullion, Haworth said. Major US stock indexes set record intraday highs on Tuesday as optimism about the world economy and upbeat corporate results from Alcoa boosted risk appetite, while European shares rose for a fourth straight day. Japan's ruling coalition fanned expectations of more fiscal stimulus, while the Bank of England could cut rates as soon as Thursday following its monthly policy meeting. "The additional stimulus packages will continue to create a challenging environment for investors looking for a return because they are not getting it through bonds and as long as we have that scenario, then the alternatives are currently stocks but also precious metals," Saxo Bank senior manager Ole Hansen said. Markets were also assessing whether the latest US jobs data, which was stronger than expected, has boosted the prospects for an interest rate increase by the US Federal Reserve. The European Central Bank will not ease monetary policy any further at its meeting next week, according to an overwhelming majority of respondents in a Reuters poll of euro money market traders. Silver was down 0.65 per cent at $20.13 an ounce. Platinum fell for the first time in two weeks, down 1.14 per cent at $1,087. Palladium rose 1 per cent to $627.50. (Reuters)

Gold sees biggest one-day fall in 3 weeks as pound gains ground

Jim Charlesworth has no doubts about the abilities of his local MP and neighbour Theresa May. &quot;She will be the best Prime Minister this country has ever known,&quot; the 69-year-old said. 
 
May, who replaces David Cameron as Britain&#39;s next leader on Wednesday, is widely viewed as hard-working, tough but approachable in her constituency of Maidenhead in southern England. 
 
&quot;I can&#39;t say a wrong word about that lady -- she will get this country back on its feet,&quot; Charlesworth told AFP. 
 
May has represented Maidenhead, west of London, since 1997. She was re-elected as its Conservative MP last year with 65.8 per cent of the vote. 
 
&quot;I never voted for her but I do respect her, she is a very hard-working MP,&quot; said Anne Matkin, 64. 
 
She said May was &quot;always willing to listen and to help people&quot; despite, for the past six years as interior minister, holding one of the toughest jobs in government. 
 
&quot;She spends a lot of time in the area,&quot; adds Maxine Lattimer, a 46-year-old housewife with five children, describing her as a &quot;nice, caring woman&quot;. 
 
She recalled how May attended a recent parade to celebrate St George&#39;s Day, in honour of England&#39;s patron saint, along with her bodyguards. 
 
After six years as home secretary, she now has the tough task of uniting the country and leading Britain out of the European Union (EU). 
 
Lattimer has no doubt that May is the right person to lead the Brexit negotiations. 
 
&quot;She&#39;ll be very assertive, she&#39;ll work really really hard for the best interest of Britain. She won&#39;t shy away from difficult decisions -- she is tough when she needs to be,&quot; she said. 
 
&#39;Nothing murky&#39; 
 
The 60,000 residents of Maidenhead, many of whom commute to work in London, bucked the trend across England by voting for Britain to stay in the EU. 
 
May, too, had wanted Britain to stay in and although she kept a low national profile, residents here say she had campaigned locally for the status quo. 
 
&quot;People felt that she did her bit,&quot; said Martin Trepte, editor of the local newspaper, the Maidenhead Advertiser, which has a circulation of 17,000. 
 
May has repeatedly said that she will uphold the will of the public and that &quot;Brexit means Brexit&quot;. 
 
Trepte described her as a &quot;mature, grown-up politician&quot; who &quot;knows her stuff&quot; -- and says there are no skeletons in her closet, at least as far as he knows. 
 
&quot;In 19 years there has been nothing murky at all,&quot; he said. 
 
He added: &quot;We don&#39;t know too much about her. She&#39;s quite a private person. We know she goes to church regularly.&quot; 
 
May attends church in Sonning, a picturesque village on the banks of the River Thames where she lives with her husband Philip. 
 
Its charms have attracted other high-profile neighbours including Hollywood actor George Clooney and his wife Amal, and Led Zeppelin&#39;s Jimmy Page. 
 
&#39;Genuine and passionate&#39;&nbsp; 
 
Gil Cattermole, another of May&#39;s neighbours, recalled popping in for a chat before the politician became home secretary and had to step up her security. 
 
&quot;I used to go around to her house and talk to her,&quot; said the 69-year-old, noting that when May now goes to church, she is accompanied by several armoured Range Rovers. 
 
At the Bull Inn, a pub where Clooney has been spotted, May is also well known -- although they expect to see less of her once she enters Downing Street. 
 
&quot;She&#39;s always been very charming, very nice to customers and staff. She seems sort of genuine and very passionate about her beliefs,&quot; owner Christine Mason said. 
 
&quot;I bumped in her at the petrol station the other week. She is still relaxed doing the normal things in life. Always says &#39;hello&#39; -- nice lady.&quot; 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Britain's new Prime Minister is widely viewed as hard-working, tough but approachable in her constituency of Maidenhead in southern England

Jim Charlesworth has no doubts about the abilities of his local MP and neighbour Theresa May. "She will be the best Prime Minister this country has ever known," the 69-year-old said. May, who replaces David Cameron as Britain's next leader on Wednesday, is widely viewed as hard-working, tough but approachable in her constituency of Maidenhead in southern England. "I can't say a wrong word about that lady -- she will get this country back on its feet," Charlesworth told AFP. May has represented Maidenhead, west of London, since 1997. She was re-elected as its Conservative MP last year with 65.8 per cent of the vote. "I never voted for her but I do respect her, she is a very hard-working MP," said Anne Matkin, 64. She said May was "always willing to listen and to help people" despite, for the past six years as interior minister, holding one of the toughest jobs in government. "She spends a lot of time in the area," adds Maxine Lattimer, a 46-year-old housewife with five children, describing her as a "nice, caring woman". She recalled how May attended a recent parade to celebrate St George's Day, in honour of England's patron saint, along with her bodyguards. After six years as home secretary, she now has the tough task of uniting the country and leading Britain out of the European Union (EU). Lattimer has no doubt that May is the right person to lead the Brexit negotiations. "She'll be very assertive, she'll work really really hard for the best interest of Britain. She won't shy away from difficult decisions -- she is tough when she needs to be," she said. 'Nothing murky' The 60,000 residents of Maidenhead, many of whom commute to work in London, bucked the trend across England by voting for Britain to stay in the EU. May, too, had wanted Britain to stay in and although she kept a low national profile, residents here say she had campaigned locally for the status quo. "People felt that she did her bit," said Martin Trepte, editor of the local newspaper, the Maidenhead Advertiser, which has a circulation of 17,000. May has repeatedly said that she will uphold the will of the public and that "Brexit means Brexit". Trepte described her as a "mature, grown-up politician" who "knows her stuff" -- and says there are no skeletons in her closet, at least as far as he knows. "In 19 years there has been nothing murky at all," he said. He added: "We don't know too much about her. She's quite a private person. We know she goes to church regularly." May attends church in Sonning, a picturesque village on the banks of the River Thames where she lives with her husband Philip. Its charms have attracted other high-profile neighbours including Hollywood actor George Clooney and his wife Amal, and Led Zeppelin's Jimmy Page. 'Genuine and passionate' Gil Cattermole, another of May's neighbours, recalled popping in for a chat before the politician became home secretary and had to step up her security. "I used to go around to her house and talk to her," said the 69-year-old, noting that when May now goes to church, she is accompanied by several armoured Range Rovers. At the Bull Inn, a pub where Clooney has been spotted, May is also well known -- although they expect to see less of her once she enters Downing Street. "She's always been very charming, very nice to customers and staff. She seems sort of genuine and very passionate about her beliefs," owner Christine Mason said. "I bumped in her at the petrol station the other week. She is still relaxed doing the normal things in life. Always says 'hello' -- nice lady." (AFP)

May's neighbours sing her praises

The Bank of England (BoE) is mulling whether to cut interest rates for the first time in over seven years to curb economic fallout from Britain`s vote to exit the European Union (EU). 
 
The BoE on Thursday concludes its first interest-rate meeting since Britain voted on June 23 to exit the EU and subsequent comments by governor Mark Carney that &quot;some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer&quot;. 
 
Jonathan Loynes, economist at Capital Economics research group, said &quot;given that the biggest near-term threat to the economy is uncertainty and its adverse effects on confidence, an interest rate cut could help to re-assure households and markets following the referendum result&quot;. 
 
Political uncertainity gripped Britain after Brexit 
 
While markets are pricing in a cut as early as this week, some analysts believe a drop in the BoE&#39;s main lending rate from 0.50 percent to a new record-low of 0.25 percent or even zero may not now occur until August. 
 
This they say is owing to Theresa May`s quick appointment as Prime Minister having reduced some of the political uncertainty that has gripped Britain since the shock referendum result. 
 
Whether or not a rate cut occurs Thursday or in August, markets expect that by the end of the British summer, the BoE will unveil a fresh means of stimulating the economy, as the government heads into tough negotiations on quitting the EU. 
 
Analysts suggest there could for example be some more cash stimulus pumped around the British economy to encourage lending by commercial banks. 
 
The central bank&#39;s quantitative easing (QE) programme, launched alongside record-low interest rates during the global financial crisis, has enabled an additional &pound;375 billion ($494 billion, 445 billion euros) to move through the economy. 
 
BoE has also vowed to pump&nbsp; &pound;250 billion into markets&nbsp; 
 
The BoE has already taken steps to calm fears over Brexit&#39;s economic fallout when it last week relaxed commercial banks&#39; capital requirements to boost lending to businesses and households. 
 
The move -- which came as the bank&#39;s governor Mark Carney warned that risks to financial stability were materialising following the referendum result -- will boost lending by up to &pound;150 billion and reduce banks&#39; regulatory capital buffers by &pound;5.7 billion. 
 
Addressing MPs for a regular update Tuesday, Carney said demand for credit was set to drop because of uncertainty created by Brexit, adding that the &pound;150 billion lending-boost would be &quot;part of a series of measures&quot; going forward. 
 
Since Brexit, the BoE has also vowed to pump at least &pound;250 billion into money markets if needed to prevent a damaging credit crunch. 
 
Finance minister George Osborne has meanwhile said that the Treasury could expand the so-called Funding for Lending scheme, which provides cheap finance to banks in exchange for increased lending. 
 
&quot;After all the volatility of the past few weeks, odds have increased sharply that the Bank of England could well cut interest rates&quot; on Thursday, said Michael Hewson, chief analyst at trading group CMC Markets. 
 
&quot;It is this expectation that has helped push the pound to new 31-year lows against the US dollar.&quot; 
 
Hewson added, however, that the rate could now remain on hold Thursday as &quot;the political picture has become much more stable&quot;. 
 
David Cameron on Tuesday chaired his final cabinet meeting after six years as Britain`s Prime Minister, with incoming premier May preparing to form a new government to negotiate Britain`s exit from the EU. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
 
&nbsp;

This would be the first interest rate cut in seven years

The Bank of England (BoE) is mulling whether to cut interest rates for the first time in over seven years to curb economic fallout from Britain`s vote to exit the European Union (EU). The BoE on Thursday concludes its first interest-rate meeting since Britain voted on June 23 to exit the EU and subsequent comments by governor Mark Carney that "some monetary policy easing will likely be required over the summer". Jonathan Loynes, economist at Capital Economics research group, said "given that the biggest near-term threat to the economy is uncertainty and its adverse effects on confidence, an interest rate cut could help to re-assure households and markets following the referendum result". Political uncertainity gripped Britain after Brexit While markets are pricing in a cut as early as this week, some analysts believe a drop in the BoE's main lending rate from 0.50 percent to a new record-low of 0.25 percent or even zero may not now occur until August. This they say is owing to Theresa May`s quick appointment as Prime Minister having reduced some of the political uncertainty that has gripped Britain since the shock referendum result. Whether or not a rate cut occurs Thursday or in August, markets expect that by the end of the British summer, the BoE will unveil a fresh means of stimulating the economy, as the government heads into tough negotiations on quitting the EU. Analysts suggest there could for example be some more cash stimulus pumped around the British economy to encourage lending by commercial banks. The central bank's quantitative easing (QE) programme, launched alongside record-low interest rates during the global financial crisis, has enabled an additional £375 billion ($494 billion, 445 billion euros) to move through the economy. BoE has also vowed to pump £250 billion into markets The BoE has already taken steps to calm fears over Brexit's economic fallout when it last week relaxed commercial banks' capital requirements to boost lending to businesses and households. The move -- which came as the bank's governor Mark Carney warned that risks to financial stability were materialising following the referendum result -- will boost lending by up to £150 billion and reduce banks' regulatory capital buffers by £5.7 billion. Addressing MPs for a regular update Tuesday, Carney said demand for credit was set to drop because of uncertainty created by Brexit, adding that the £150 billion lending-boost would be "part of a series of measures" going forward. Since Brexit, the BoE has also vowed to pump at least £250 billion into money markets if needed to prevent a damaging credit crunch. Finance minister George Osborne has meanwhile said that the Treasury could expand the so-called Funding for Lending scheme, which provides cheap finance to banks in exchange for increased lending. "After all the volatility of the past few weeks, odds have increased sharply that the Bank of England could well cut interest rates" on Thursday, said Michael Hewson, chief analyst at trading group CMC Markets. "It is this expectation that has helped push the pound to new 31-year lows against the US dollar." Hewson added, however, that the rate could now remain on hold Thursday as "the political picture has become much more stable". David Cameron on Tuesday chaired his final cabinet meeting after six years as Britain`s Prime Minister, with incoming premier May preparing to form a new government to negotiate Britain`s exit from the EU. (AFP)

Bank of England mulls rate cut to curb Brexit fallout

David Cameron chairs his final cabinet meeting today after six years as Britain`s Prime Minister, with incoming premier Theresa May preparing to form a new government to deliver Brexit.&nbsp; 
 
Cameron&#39;s last full day as the premier came sooner than expected after dramatic twists in the race to replace him led to his swift exit from power less than three weeks after the nation&#39;s seismic vote to quit the European Union (EU). 
 
Home Secretary May, the interior minister, was declared the new leader of the governing centre-right Conservative Party on Monday after junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom, her only remaining challenger for the post, withdrew from the contest. 
 
Next on agenda: Breaking ties with EU&nbsp; 
 
Cameron announced he would step down after leading the failed campaign for Britain to remain in the EU in the June 23 referendum. 
 
May will immediately face questions on when she plans to trigger Article 50 -- the formal procedure for withdrawal from the EU -- which would set a two-year deadline for completing exit negotiations. 
 
While May supported Britain staying in the bloc, she cut a low profile during the referendum campaign and insists she will honour the popular vote, stressing on Monday: &quot;Brexit means Brexit&quot;. 
 
May also noted the need &quot;to negotiate the best deal for Britain in leaving the EU&quot; in brief comments outside parliament. 
 
EU leaders have kept up the pressure on Britain, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying late Monday, &quot;The United Kingdom will need to quickly clarify how it wants its ties with the European Union to be in future.&quot; 
 
Cameron was to face MPs in parliament for a final time tomorrow in the weekly Prime Minister&#39;s questions session, before meeting Queen Elizabeth II to tender his resignation to the head of state. 
 
The monarch will call for May, the new leader of the majority party in parliament, to form a fresh government. 
 
May set to become Britain&#39;s &nbsp;second female PM 
 
May will become Britain&#39;s second female Prime Minister after 1980s Conservative titan Margaret Thatcher. 
 
The 59-year-old will have to keep Leave-supporting Conservative heavyweights onside if she is to heal the splits in the party caused by the referendum.The futures of leading pro-Brexit figureheads such as Leadsom, Justice Secretary Michael Gove and former London mayor Boris Johnson hang in the balance. 
 
May will also have to decide whether to keep top figures such as finance minister George Osborne and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in place. 
 
Corbyn faces leadership challenge 
 
Meanwhile, Tuesday was set to be a key date in the history of the main opposition Labour Party, whose embattled leader Jeremy Corbyn -- hugely popular with the party membership -- is facing a leadership challenge after losing the confidence of three quarters of Labour MPs. 
 
The party`s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) was to decide whether Corbyn would require nominations to stand in the contest after the party`s former business spokeswoman Angela Eagle announced her leadership challenge on Monday. 
 
The left-of-centre party&#39;s rulebook is ambiguous on what is required of a sitting leader if challenged. 
 
Corbyn is adamant his name should automatically be on the ballot: he would struggle to get the support of 20 percent of Labour MPs and members of the European Parliament required by Eagle. 
 
Lawyers for Jim Kennedy, a trade union member of the NEC, have written a letter to party general secretary Iain McNicol threatening legal action. 
 
&quot;We put you on the clearest notice that we will be instructed to apply to the High Court for immediate injunctive relief should Jeremy Corbyn`s name not go forward automatically to the ballot,&quot; it said. 
 
Corbyn lost confidence after his perceived half-hearted, lacklustre campaigning for Labour`s position of supporting the EU referendum Remain campaign. 
 
With so many Labour MPs in opposition to their leader, there is a risk of the party splitting if Corbyn makes it on the ballot and secures a repeat of September`s landslide victory. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

David Cameron's last full day as British Prime Minister came sooner than expected after dramatic twists in the race to replace him

David Cameron chairs his final cabinet meeting today after six years as Britain`s Prime Minister, with incoming premier Theresa May preparing to form a new government to deliver Brexit. Cameron's last full day as the premier came sooner than expected after dramatic twists in the race to replace him led to his swift exit from power less than three weeks after the nation's seismic vote to quit the European Union (EU). Home Secretary May, the interior minister, was declared the new leader of the governing centre-right Conservative Party on Monday after junior energy minister Andrea Leadsom, her only remaining challenger for the post, withdrew from the contest. Next on agenda: Breaking ties with EU Cameron announced he would step down after leading the failed campaign for Britain to remain in the EU in the June 23 referendum. May will immediately face questions on when she plans to trigger Article 50 -- the formal procedure for withdrawal from the EU -- which would set a two-year deadline for completing exit negotiations. While May supported Britain staying in the bloc, she cut a low profile during the referendum campaign and insists she will honour the popular vote, stressing on Monday: "Brexit means Brexit". May also noted the need "to negotiate the best deal for Britain in leaving the EU" in brief comments outside parliament. EU leaders have kept up the pressure on Britain, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel saying late Monday, "The United Kingdom will need to quickly clarify how it wants its ties with the European Union to be in future." Cameron was to face MPs in parliament for a final time tomorrow in the weekly Prime Minister's questions session, before meeting Queen Elizabeth II to tender his resignation to the head of state. The monarch will call for May, the new leader of the majority party in parliament, to form a fresh government. May set to become Britain's second female PM May will become Britain's second female Prime Minister after 1980s Conservative titan Margaret Thatcher. The 59-year-old will have to keep Leave-supporting Conservative heavyweights onside if she is to heal the splits in the party caused by the referendum.The futures of leading pro-Brexit figureheads such as Leadsom, Justice Secretary Michael Gove and former London mayor Boris Johnson hang in the balance. May will also have to decide whether to keep top figures such as finance minister George Osborne and Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond in place. Corbyn faces leadership challenge Meanwhile, Tuesday was set to be a key date in the history of the main opposition Labour Party, whose embattled leader Jeremy Corbyn -- hugely popular with the party membership -- is facing a leadership challenge after losing the confidence of three quarters of Labour MPs. The party`s ruling National Executive Committee (NEC) was to decide whether Corbyn would require nominations to stand in the contest after the party`s former business spokeswoman Angela Eagle announced her leadership challenge on Monday. The left-of-centre party's rulebook is ambiguous on what is required of a sitting leader if challenged. Corbyn is adamant his name should automatically be on the ballot: he would struggle to get the support of 20 percent of Labour MPs and members of the European Parliament required by Eagle. Lawyers for Jim Kennedy, a trade union member of the NEC, have written a letter to party general secretary Iain McNicol threatening legal action. "We put you on the clearest notice that we will be instructed to apply to the High Court for immediate injunctive relief should Jeremy Corbyn`s name not go forward automatically to the ballot," it said. Corbyn lost confidence after his perceived half-hearted, lacklustre campaigning for Labour`s position of supporting the EU referendum Remain campaign. With so many Labour MPs in opposition to their leader, there is a risk of the party splitting if Corbyn makes it on the ballot and secures a repeat of September`s landslide victory. (AFP)

Cameron holds last cabinet meet as May prepares to deliver Brexit

Interior minister&nbsp;Theresa&nbsp;May&nbsp;will become Britain&#39;s prime minister on Wednesday, with the task of steering its withdrawal from the European Union, after rival Andrea Leadsom abruptly terminated her disastrous leadership campaign.

May, 59, will succeed David Cameron, who announced he was stepping down after Britons&nbsp;voted last month to quit the EU. Britain&#39;s planned withdrawal has weakened the 28-nation bloc, created huge uncertainty over trade and investment, and shaken financial markets.

May&nbsp;and Leadsom had been due to contest a ballot of grassroots Conservative party members, with the result to be declared by September&nbsp;9. But Leadsom unexpectedly quit on Monday after a campaign dogged by ill-judged comments about her rival&#39;s lack of children and questions about whether she had exaggerated her CV.

&quot;I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen by the Conservative Party to become its leader,&quot; said&nbsp;May, who favoured remaining in the EU but has made clear there is no going back on the result of the June 23 referendum.

&quot;Brexit means Brexit, and we&#39;re going to make a success of it.&quot;

Earlier, Cameron told reporters in front of his 10 Downing Street residence that he expected to chair his last cabinet meeting on Tuesday and take questions in parliament on Wednesday before tendering his resignation to Queen Elizabeth.

&quot;So we will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening,&quot; he said.

May&nbsp;will become Britain&#39;s second female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher.

Her victory means that the complex process of extricating Britain from the EU will be led by someone from the losing side of the acrimonious referendum campaign. She has said Britain needs time to work out its negotiating strategy and should not initiate formal divorce proceedings before the end of the year.

In a speech earlier on Monday in the city of Birmingham,&nbsp;May&nbsp;said there could be no second referendum and no attempt to rejoin the EU by the back door.

&quot;As prime minister, I will make sure that we leave the European Union,&quot; she said.

The White House said US President Barack Obama was confident that the &quot;special relationship&quot; between the United States and Britain would continue after&nbsp;May&nbsp;becomes prime minister.

&nbsp;

Relative Unknown

Leadsom, 53, is a junior energy minister who has never served in cabinet and was barely known to the British public until she emerged as a prominent voice in the successful Leave campaign.

She had been strongly criticised over a newspaper interview in which she appeared to suggest that being a mother meant she had more of a stake in the country&#39;s future than&nbsp;May, who has no children. Some Conservatives said they were disgusted by the remarks, for which Leadsom later apologised, while others said they showed naivety and a lack of judgment.

Leadsom told reporters she was pulling out of the race to avoid nine weeks of campaign uncertainty at a time when strong leadership was needed. She acknowledged that&nbsp;May&nbsp;had secured much greater backing in a vote of Conservative members of parliament last week.

&quot;I have ... concluded that the interests of our country are best served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well supported prime minister,&quot; she said. &quot;I am therefore withdrawing from the leadership election and I wish&nbsp;Theresa&nbsp;May&nbsp;the very greatest success.&quot;

Graham Brady, head of the Conservative party committee in charge of the leadership contest, confirmed that&nbsp;May&nbsp;had been elected with immediate effect.

The pound, which has hit 31-year lows since the referendum on concern about potential damage to the British economy, bounced slightly on the news that the Conservative leadership question would be resolved much sooner than expected.

It was trading around $1.2970, up 0.1 per cent on the day but still down around 13 per cent since the day of the vote. The FTSE 250 index of mid-sized companies rose 3.27 per cent.

&quot;Welcome news we have 1 candidate with overwhelming support to be next PM.&nbsp;Theresa&nbsp;Mayhas strength, integrity &amp; determination to do the job,&quot; finance minister George Osborne tweeted.

&nbsp;

Forging New Role

The 52-to-48 per cent vote to quit the EU after 43 years of membership was a stunning rebuke to Britain&#39;s political leaders and especially Cameron, who had argued that breaking away would bring economic disaster.

Britons ignored his warnings, swayed by the arguments of the Leave campaign that &#39;Brexit&#39; would enable them to regain &#39;independence&#39; from Brussels and clamp down on high immigration, something hard to achieve under EU rules allowing people to live and work anywhere in the bloc.

May&#39;s leadership hopes had appeared at risk of being damaged by her failure, in six years as interior minister, to bring immigration down, and the fact she found herself on the losing side of the referendum campaign.

But her two best-known rivals on the Leave side were felled by political back-stabbing when Justice Secretary Michael Gove brought down former London&nbsp;mayor Boris Johnson and was then punished for his perceived treachery by being eliminated from a ballot of Conservative MPs.

In her speech in Birmingham on Monday,&nbsp;May&nbsp;set out her vision for the economy, calling for &quot;a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few&quot;.

In a pitch for the political centre, she said she would prioritise more house-building, a crackdown on tax evasion by individuals and companies, lower energy costs and a narrowing of the &#39;unhealthy&#39; gap between the pay of employees and corporate bosses.

&quot;Under my leadership, the Conservative Party will put itself completely, absolutely, unequivocally, at the service of ordinary working people ... we will make Britain a country that works for everyone,&quot; she said.

&nbsp;

Labour Disarray

May&#39;s biggest challenge will be to map out the course of Britain&#39;s withdrawal, a process still clouded in uncertainty, and to sort out new terms of trade with the other 27 EU nations.

&quot;We will have difficult negotiations with Britain, it will not be easy,&quot; said German Chancellor Angela Merkel who insisted that Britain would not be able to get free access to the EU&#39;s single market without accepting free movement of people.

European Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said: &quot;We should open the negotiations as quickly as possible in order to limit uncertainty.&quot;

More than 1000 British lawyers said in a letter to Cameron that members of parliament should decide whether Britain leaves the EU because the referendum was not legally binding.

Opposition members of parliament, responding to the impending appointment of&nbsp;May, demanded a general election.

&quot;It is crucial, given the instability caused by the Brexit vote, that the country has a democratically elected prime minister,&quot; Labour party election co-ordinator Jon Trickett said.

Labour too has been thrown into upheaval by the referendum, with leader Jeremy Corbyn widely criticised for failing to make a sufficiently passionate case in favour of staying in the EU.

Minutes before Leadsom&#39;s announcement, Labour lawmaker Angela Eagle launched a leadership challenge to Corbyn.

&quot;Jeremy Corbyn is unable to provide the leadership that this party needs -- I believe I can,&quot; Eagle said.

Corbyn was elected last year with overwhelming support from grassroots Labour activists. He has ignored a vote of no confidence from the party&#39;s lawmakers, saying he has a responsibility to carry out that mandate.

(Reuters)

May, the second woman to become Britain's prime minister, will lead the country post its break off with the EU

Interior minister Theresa May will become Britain's prime minister on Wednesday, with the task of steering its withdrawal from the European Union, after rival Andrea Leadsom abruptly terminated her disastrous leadership campaign. May, 59, will succeed David Cameron, who announced he was stepping down after Britons voted last month to quit the EU. Britain's planned withdrawal has weakened the 28-nation bloc, created huge uncertainty over trade and investment, and shaken financial markets. May and Leadsom had been due to contest a ballot of grassroots Conservative party members, with the result to be declared by September 9. But Leadsom unexpectedly quit on Monday after a campaign dogged by ill-judged comments about her rival's lack of children and questions about whether she had exaggerated her CV. "I am honoured and humbled to have been chosen by the Conservative Party to become its leader," said May, who favoured remaining in the EU but has made clear there is no going back on the result of the June 23 referendum. "Brexit means Brexit, and we're going to make a success of it." Earlier, Cameron told reporters in front of his 10 Downing Street residence that he expected to chair his last cabinet meeting on Tuesday and take questions in parliament on Wednesday before tendering his resignation to Queen Elizabeth. "So we will have a new prime minister in that building behind me by Wednesday evening," he said. May will become Britain's second female prime minister, after Margaret Thatcher. Her victory means that the complex process of extricating Britain from the EU will be led by someone from the losing side of the acrimonious referendum campaign. She has said Britain needs time to work out its negotiating strategy and should not initiate formal divorce proceedings before the end of the year. In a speech earlier on Monday in the city of Birmingham, May said there could be no second referendum and no attempt to rejoin the EU by the back door. "As prime minister, I will make sure that we leave the European Union," she said. The White House said US President Barack Obama was confident that the "special relationship" between the United States and Britain would continue after May becomes prime minister. Relative Unknown Leadsom, 53, is a junior energy minister who has never served in cabinet and was barely known to the British public until she emerged as a prominent voice in the successful Leave campaign. She had been strongly criticised over a newspaper interview in which she appeared to suggest that being a mother meant she had more of a stake in the country's future than May, who has no children. Some Conservatives said they were disgusted by the remarks, for which Leadsom later apologised, while others said they showed naivety and a lack of judgment. Leadsom told reporters she was pulling out of the race to avoid nine weeks of campaign uncertainty at a time when strong leadership was needed. She acknowledged that May had secured much greater backing in a vote of Conservative members of parliament last week. "I have ... concluded that the interests of our country are best served by the immediate appointment of a strong and well supported prime minister," she said. "I am therefore withdrawing from the leadership election and I wish Theresa May the very greatest success." Graham Brady, head of the Conservative party committee in charge of the leadership contest, confirmed that May had been elected with immediate effect. The pound, which has hit 31-year lows since the referendum on concern about potential damage to the British economy, bounced slightly on the news that the Conservative leadership question would be resolved much sooner than expected. It was trading around $1.2970, up 0.1 per cent on the day but still down around 13 per cent since the day of the vote. The FTSE 250 index of mid-sized companies rose 3.27 per cent. "Welcome news we have 1 candidate with overwhelming support to be next PM. Theresa Mayhas strength, integrity & determination to do the job," finance minister George Osborne tweeted. Forging New Role The 52-to-48 per cent vote to quit the EU after 43 years of membership was a stunning rebuke to Britain's political leaders and especially Cameron, who had argued that breaking away would bring economic disaster. Britons ignored his warnings, swayed by the arguments of the Leave campaign that 'Brexit' would enable them to regain 'independence' from Brussels and clamp down on high immigration, something hard to achieve under EU rules allowing people to live and work anywhere in the bloc. May's leadership hopes had appeared at risk of being damaged by her failure, in six years as interior minister, to bring immigration down, and the fact she found herself on the losing side of the referendum campaign. But her two best-known rivals on the Leave side were felled by political back-stabbing when Justice Secretary Michael Gove brought down former London mayor Boris Johnson and was then punished for his perceived treachery by being eliminated from a ballot of Conservative MPs. In her speech in Birmingham on Monday, May set out her vision for the economy, calling for "a country that works for everyone, not just the privileged few". In a pitch for the political centre, she said she would prioritise more house-building, a crackdown on tax evasion by individuals and companies, lower energy costs and a narrowing of the 'unhealthy' gap between the pay of employees and corporate bosses. "Under my leadership, the Conservative Party will put itself completely, absolutely, unequivocally, at the service of ordinary working people ... we will make Britain a country that works for everyone," she said. Labour Disarray May's biggest challenge will be to map out the course of Britain's withdrawal, a process still clouded in uncertainty, and to sort out new terms of trade with the other 27 EU nations. "We will have difficult negotiations with Britain, it will not be easy," said German Chancellor Angela Merkel who insisted that Britain would not be able to get free access to the EU's single market without accepting free movement of people. European Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said: "We should open the negotiations as quickly as possible in order to limit uncertainty." More than 1000 British lawyers said in a letter to Cameron that members of parliament should decide whether Britain leaves the EU because the referendum was not legally binding. Opposition members of parliament, responding to the impending appointment of May, demanded a general election. "It is crucial, given the instability caused by the Brexit vote, that the country has a democratically elected prime minister," Labour party election co-ordinator Jon Trickett said. Labour too has been thrown into upheaval by the referendum, with leader Jeremy Corbyn widely criticised for failing to make a sufficiently passionate case in favour of staying in the EU. Minutes before Leadsom's announcement, Labour lawmaker Angela Eagle launched a leadership challenge to Corbyn. "Jeremy Corbyn is unable to provide the leadership that this party needs -- I believe I can," Eagle said. Corbyn was elected last year with overwhelming support from grassroots Labour activists. He has ignored a vote of no confidence from the party's lawmakers, saying he has a responsibility to carry out that mandate. (Reuters)

Theresa May to be Britain's next Prime Minister

Prime Minister David Cameron said it was in Britain&#39;s fundamental interest to remain very close to the European Union (EU) when it renegotiates a new relationship with the bloc it voted to leave in a referendum last month. 
 
Speaking to global aerospace executives at the Farnborough airshow today, Cameron said Britain must accept the reality of the vote and must make it work, including forging a new relationship with its European partners. 
 
&quot;The big strategic decisions are for the next prime minister but the groundwork is underway,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;All I would say about the outcome is this: I believe it is in our fundamental national and economic interest to remain very close to the European Union, for trade, for business, for security, for cooperation. So let that be our goal.&quot; 
 
Cameron announced his resignation the day after his campaign to remain in the EU was defeated in the referendum. 
 
He said Britain had already had a taste of the turbulence in global markets and in term of the value of the pound that he had warned would follow a leave victory. 
 
&quot;There will be other problems ahead but I want to be clear: we will deal with them from a position of strength, with a growing economy, a greatly reduced deficit, lower inflation and more jobs and businesses than ever before in our country,&quot; he said. 
 
&quot;Above all though, we must recognise we are in a new reality now, we must accept it and we must make it work.&quot; 
 
He said Britain needed to &quot;think big and think radically&quot; to ensure the best outcome in the new circumstances, including a much bigger push on trade and investment targeting fast-growing economies like India and China. 
 
(Reuters)

Britain needs to "think big and think radically" to ensure the best outcome in the new circumstances, insists PM David Cameron

Prime Minister David Cameron said it was in Britain's fundamental interest to remain very close to the European Union (EU) when it renegotiates a new relationship with the bloc it voted to leave in a referendum last month. Speaking to global aerospace executives at the Farnborough airshow today, Cameron said Britain must accept the reality of the vote and must make it work, including forging a new relationship with its European partners. "The big strategic decisions are for the next prime minister but the groundwork is underway," he said. "All I would say about the outcome is this: I believe it is in our fundamental national and economic interest to remain very close to the European Union, for trade, for business, for security, for cooperation. So let that be our goal." Cameron announced his resignation the day after his campaign to remain in the EU was defeated in the referendum. He said Britain had already had a taste of the turbulence in global markets and in term of the value of the pound that he had warned would follow a leave victory. "There will be other problems ahead but I want to be clear: we will deal with them from a position of strength, with a growing economy, a greatly reduced deficit, lower inflation and more jobs and businesses than ever before in our country," he said. "Above all though, we must recognise we are in a new reality now, we must accept it and we must make it work." He said Britain needed to "think big and think radically" to ensure the best outcome in the new circumstances, including a much bigger push on trade and investment targeting fast-growing economies like India and China. (Reuters)

After divorce, Cameron says UK must stay close to EU

Commercial real estate has hit the headlines this week, a victim of the recent Brexit vote which has left over $20 billion trapped in funds that not long ago promised investors a slice of London&#39;s red-hot property market 
 
Money placed in real estate vehicles managed by big asset management firms such as Standard Life and Henderson may have yielded strong returns during the boom years, but with the Pound in freefall and Britain headed towards economic recession, the flip side of such investments is fast becoming evident. 
 
The ins and outs of commercial property investments remain a mystery to many. But put very simply, this week&#39;s seize-up - the biggest since the 2008 crisis - has unfolded as punters lined up to demand their cash back from the asset managers. 
 
The reason behind the outflow wave? Fears that economic uncertainty after Britons&#39; decision to exit the EU will hit demand from companies to rent and buy commercial property. 
 
In normal times, most funds allow investors to pull out their money daily. But when redemption requests balloon, as they did this week, funds may run out of cash and must then sell the buildings they own. That process can take months. 
 
&quot;Property is an illiquid asset and this week shows what can happen to illiquid assets when the fundamentals/facts change,&quot; Deutsche Bank reminded clients. 
 
Many property investors will also remember the 2008 crisis when funds hit by huge redemptions were forced into a fire sale of commercial buildings, eventually bringing central London property prices down by as much as 40 per cent. 
 
Fund suspensions aim to avert this scenario by giving the asset managers more time to sell property. 
 
Some managers such as Legal &amp; General and F&amp;C have resorted to less extreme measures such as reassessing the value of the fund to account for likely changes in market pricing even if sales data has yet to justify the figure. 
 
That means anyone who wants money back must accept a lower price than was established the last time the property portfolio was formally valued - essentially an incentive to leave cash in the fund. 
 
One thing has changed since the last crisis - the amount of money involved is far higher, exacerbated by shifts in the global investment landscape. 
 
British property markets along with other business hotspots such as New York and Singapore have seen a huge influx of cash from investors - domestic and foreign - seeking to escape crushingly low or even negative yields on bond markets. 
 
An investment in real estate on the other hand offered deep-pocketed money managers, such as sovereign wealth funds (SWF) or insurance firms, the promise of an asset that would hopefully appreciate in value while also providing handsome rental income. 
 
Average SWF exposure to real estate rose to 6.5 per cent in 2015 from 3 per cent in 2012, according to a recent survey by Invesco, while a Reuters poll found in June that global funds held an average 2.9 per cent of portfolios in property - the highest in at least five years. 
 
In absolute terms, the value of investment in commercial property worldwide topped $650 billion at the end of 2015, more than four times 2009 levels, data portal Statista estimates. 
 
This week&#39;s turmoil is likely to raise questions about how best to invest in property in future. Many are calling Britain&#39;s Financial Ombudsman Service to complain about the fund suspensions and the potential hit to their savings. 
 
&quot;Time and again investors are faced with making the difficult choice between withstanding the woes that strike when fear overshadows the property market, and paying a high price tag to liquidate their investments,&quot; Morningstar investment research analyst Muna Abu-Habsa. 
 
She reckons property investors may be better served by real estate investment trusts (REITs) - closed funds with a set number of shares that pay dividends to shareholders. At REITs investors who want money back just sell their shares and trusts don&#39;t have to sell assets to meet redemptions. 
 
However, shares in UK REITs, too, have slumped since the vote, with those from F&amp;C and Schroders, for instance, down as much as 20 per cent in the past two weeks. 
 
What&#39;s the outlook? 
 
Some deep-pocketed funds such as SWFs will be able to wait out some volatility. Longer-term, much depends on how Brexit is negotiated and whether foreign firms and banks exit London. 
 
Many reckon that even with the suspensions, large numbers of properties will be sold cheaply, leading to price corrections that will ripple out from London across the country. 
 
UBS Asset Management said it already expected price declines of 4-10 per cent on City properties in 2017-2018 due to large volumes of construction. Now weaker demand due to Brexit could cause bigger falls, it added. 
 
(Reuters)

Money placed in real estate vehicles hits downfall with the Pound in freefall and Britain heading towards economic recession

Commercial real estate has hit the headlines this week, a victim of the recent Brexit vote which has left over $20 billion trapped in funds that not long ago promised investors a slice of London's red-hot property market Money placed in real estate vehicles managed by big asset management firms such as Standard Life and Henderson may have yielded strong returns during the boom years, but with the Pound in freefall and Britain headed towards economic recession, the flip side of such investments is fast becoming evident. The ins and outs of commercial property investments remain a mystery to many. But put very simply, this week's seize-up - the biggest since the 2008 crisis - has unfolded as punters lined up to demand their cash back from the asset managers. The reason behind the outflow wave? Fears that economic uncertainty after Britons' decision to exit the EU will hit demand from companies to rent and buy commercial property. In normal times, most funds allow investors to pull out their money daily. But when redemption requests balloon, as they did this week, funds may run out of cash and must then sell the buildings they own. That process can take months. "Property is an illiquid asset and this week shows what can happen to illiquid assets when the fundamentals/facts change," Deutsche Bank reminded clients. Many property investors will also remember the 2008 crisis when funds hit by huge redemptions were forced into a fire sale of commercial buildings, eventually bringing central London property prices down by as much as 40 per cent. Fund suspensions aim to avert this scenario by giving the asset managers more time to sell property. Some managers such as Legal & General and F&C have resorted to less extreme measures such as reassessing the value of the fund to account for likely changes in market pricing even if sales data has yet to justify the figure. That means anyone who wants money back must accept a lower price than was established the last time the property portfolio was formally valued - essentially an incentive to leave cash in the fund. One thing has changed since the last crisis - the amount of money involved is far higher, exacerbated by shifts in the global investment landscape. British property markets along with other business hotspots such as New York and Singapore have seen a huge influx of cash from investors - domestic and foreign - seeking to escape crushingly low or even negative yields on bond markets. An investment in real estate on the other hand offered deep-pocketed money managers, such as sovereign wealth funds (SWF) or insurance firms, the promise of an asset that would hopefully appreciate in value while also providing handsome rental income. Average SWF exposure to real estate rose to 6.5 per cent in 2015 from 3 per cent in 2012, according to a recent survey by Invesco, while a Reuters poll found in June that global funds held an average 2.9 per cent of portfolios in property - the highest in at least five years. In absolute terms, the value of investment in commercial property worldwide topped $650 billion at the end of 2015, more than four times 2009 levels, data portal Statista estimates. This week's turmoil is likely to raise questions about how best to invest in property in future. Many are calling Britain's Financial Ombudsman Service to complain about the fund suspensions and the potential hit to their savings. "Time and again investors are faced with making the difficult choice between withstanding the woes that strike when fear overshadows the property market, and paying a high price tag to liquidate their investments," Morningstar investment research analyst Muna Abu-Habsa. She reckons property investors may be better served by real estate investment trusts (REITs) - closed funds with a set number of shares that pay dividends to shareholders. At REITs investors who want money back just sell their shares and trusts don't have to sell assets to meet redemptions. However, shares in UK REITs, too, have slumped since the vote, with those from F&C and Schroders, for instance, down as much as 20 per cent in the past two weeks. What's the outlook? Some deep-pocketed funds such as SWFs will be able to wait out some volatility. Longer-term, much depends on how Brexit is negotiated and whether foreign firms and banks exit London. Many reckon that even with the suspensions, large numbers of properties will be sold cheaply, leading to price corrections that will ripple out from London across the country. UBS Asset Management said it already expected price declines of 4-10 per cent on City properties in 2017-2018 due to large volumes of construction. Now weaker demand due to Brexit could cause bigger falls, it added. (Reuters)

UK real estate investments run into trouble post Brexit

Andrea Leadsom, a candidate to be Britain&#39;s next prime minister, is facing fresh allegations that she exaggerated her role working in financial services after putting that experience at the centre of her campaign to be the next leader. 
 
Leadsom said she had given a full account of her past jobs as some of her career credentials were called into doubt by former colleagues. 
 
After a ballot of lawmakers of the governing Conservative party on Thursday, Leadsom and interior minister Theresa May emerged as the two candidates to be prime minister. The result of the contest is expected to be decided by grass roots members by September 9. 
 
Before entering parliament in 2010 she spent a decade working at Barclays Bank and Invesco Perpetual, one of the country&#39;s biggest retail fund managers. 
 
Leadsom has often referred to her 25 years of experience in finance, recounting how she spent the weekend helping Eddie George, the late governor of the Bank of England, calming the fears of bankers after the merchant bank Barings collapsed. 
 
However, Peter Norris, the chief executive of Barings at the time, said he could not remember her playing a role in the failed attempt to rescue the bank, one of the biggest financial crises in modern British history. 
 
&quot;I was there the weekend of Barings&#39; collapse. I presented to all the banks in a room with Eddie George and I have absolutely no recollection of her at all,&quot; he told Reuters. 
 
&quot;She may have had a relationship with Barings but I do not recall her being involved in any way surrounding the collapse that weekend.&quot; 
 
A spokesman for Leadsom did not respond to Reuters&#39; request for comment on her role in the Barings rescue. 
 
&#39;In the thick of it&#39; 
 
In a blog in 2009, Leadsom wrote that over the weekend that Barings collapsed, she was &quot;in the thick of it&quot; as the Bank of England governor attempted to reassure markets and prevent a run on the banks. 
 
Responding to allegations she had exaggerated her experience working in finance, Leadsom told the BBC on Thursday that the criticism was &quot;ridiculous&quot; and her experience is &quot;all absolutely true&quot;. 
 
In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Leadsom spoke about her past &quot;running enormous teams, small teams,&quot; running a start up business and being part of a huge bank. 
 
But Reuters spoke to five former Invesco colleagues, including four in senior management positions, who said Leadsom did not have a prominent role or manage client money. 
 
Fellow Leave campaigner and former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is backing Leadsom after deciding not to run himself as the party&#39;s leader, said she has a &quot;better understanding of finance than almost anyone in parliament&quot;. 
 
Lawmaker Bernard Jenkin, another backer, said her position at a &quot;large investment firm where she was responsible for managing hundreds of people and billions of pounds&quot; made her suitable for the role. &nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Leadsom said on her CV published by her spokesman after critics questioned her credentials she worked at Invesco Perpetual between 1999 and 2009, and was Senior Investment Officer and Head of Corporate Governance. Invesco declined to say what these roles involved. Typically in the UK financial industry, a senior investment officer manages client money. 
 
The five former Invesco employees said she did not manage a large team or look after client money. 
 
&quot;Everybody I&#39;ve spoken to who does remember her says her CV doesn&#39;t match her role,&quot; said one of the sources. 
 
Responsibility 
 
The Financial Services Register in the UK is a directory, started in 2001, that lists people in financial services companies who carry out a &quot;controlled function&quot;, which usually involves managing money, advising people on financial matters or holding a senior management role. 
 
According to the register, Leadsom was an approved person for dealing with client money at Invesco Perpetual from December 2001 to February 2002. But there is no record of her on the register anytime after that. 
 
That does not indicate she was not employed by the fund but suggests she was not in a position with large responsibility for managing client money or in senior management. 
 
Invesco confirmed that Leadsom worked there between 1999 and 2009 but declined to comment further on what her roles involved. 
 
One of the former Invesco colleagues, Robert Stephens, said he contacted her last week after seeing her Wikipedia entry which sourced the 2013 edition of Who&#39;s Who, a well known biographical compilation of influential figures, as saying that she had been listed as Chief Investment Officer at Invesco. 
 
A Chief Investment Officer at a fund would usually have broad responsibility for looking after investor money and setting its investment strategy. 
 
Clarification 
 
Stephens says he is an open supporter of Britain remaining in the EU. He said that, beyond his position on the referendum, he was angered by Leadsom&#39;s claims about her financial career. 
 
Stephens said he approached Leadsom to clarify her role at the company. 
 
Leadsom has subsequently corrected the Wikipedia entry. Stephens said she denied to him that she had written the passage. 
 
Stephens and three sources said her work included assisting the then chief investment officer Bob Yerbury. Stephens said this included negotiating salaries for fund managers and working on special projects for him. &nbsp; 
 
Yerbury could not be reached for comment. 
 
&quot;People are being seduced into thinking oh wonderful 25 years in the City. She got to the top of the City,&quot; Stephens, who worked as a global investment specialist at Invesco Perpetual at the same time between 1999 and 2009, told Reuters. 
 
&quot;It assigns to her understanding of the way the financial world works which simply aren&#39;t so. The question is why she feels it necessary to self aggrandize herself in that way.&quot; 
 
Before Invesco Leadsom worked at Barclays from 1987 to 1997 where she says on her publicly released CV that her roles included &quot;managing investment banks business&quot; and &quot;deputy financial institutions director&quot;. 
 
A source at Barclays bank said there had been emails sent around different departments in the investment bank in recent days trying to confirm her roles there. 
 
Barclays confirmed the dates she worked at the bank but declined to comment further. &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp; 
 
Some of Leadsom&#39;s supporters say the criticism from Stephens is uncalled for, even if there are questions about her career history.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I think most people are realistic to know when you write a CV, you don&#39;t write it so that people don&#39;t employ you ... you always make the most of it,&quot; said Anne Marie Morris, a conservative lawmaker, who was part of the same intake as Leadsom at the 2010 election and is one of her supporters.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;The reality was that she wasn&#39;t making the tea, she was engaged in very serious deals and negotiations with very serious people.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Ex colleagues have alleged she exaggerated her role working in financial services, which she'd put at the centre of her PM campaign

Andrea Leadsom, a candidate to be Britain's next prime minister, is facing fresh allegations that she exaggerated her role working in financial services after putting that experience at the centre of her campaign to be the next leader. Leadsom said she had given a full account of her past jobs as some of her career credentials were called into doubt by former colleagues. After a ballot of lawmakers of the governing Conservative party on Thursday, Leadsom and interior minister Theresa May emerged as the two candidates to be prime minister. The result of the contest is expected to be decided by grass roots members by September 9. Before entering parliament in 2010 she spent a decade working at Barclays Bank and Invesco Perpetual, one of the country's biggest retail fund managers. Leadsom has often referred to her 25 years of experience in finance, recounting how she spent the weekend helping Eddie George, the late governor of the Bank of England, calming the fears of bankers after the merchant bank Barings collapsed. However, Peter Norris, the chief executive of Barings at the time, said he could not remember her playing a role in the failed attempt to rescue the bank, one of the biggest financial crises in modern British history. "I was there the weekend of Barings' collapse. I presented to all the banks in a room with Eddie George and I have absolutely no recollection of her at all," he told Reuters. "She may have had a relationship with Barings but I do not recall her being involved in any way surrounding the collapse that weekend." A spokesman for Leadsom did not respond to Reuters' request for comment on her role in the Barings rescue. 'In the thick of it' In a blog in 2009, Leadsom wrote that over the weekend that Barings collapsed, she was "in the thick of it" as the Bank of England governor attempted to reassure markets and prevent a run on the banks. Responding to allegations she had exaggerated her experience working in finance, Leadsom told the BBC on Thursday that the criticism was "ridiculous" and her experience is "all absolutely true". In an interview with the BBC on Sunday, Leadsom spoke about her past "running enormous teams, small teams," running a start up business and being part of a huge bank. But Reuters spoke to five former Invesco colleagues, including four in senior management positions, who said Leadsom did not have a prominent role or manage client money. Fellow Leave campaigner and former London Mayor Boris Johnson, who is backing Leadsom after deciding not to run himself as the party's leader, said she has a "better understanding of finance than almost anyone in parliament". Lawmaker Bernard Jenkin, another backer, said her position at a "large investment firm where she was responsible for managing hundreds of people and billions of pounds" made her suitable for the role. Leadsom said on her CV published by her spokesman after critics questioned her credentials she worked at Invesco Perpetual between 1999 and 2009, and was Senior Investment Officer and Head of Corporate Governance. Invesco declined to say what these roles involved. Typically in the UK financial industry, a senior investment officer manages client money. The five former Invesco employees said she did not manage a large team or look after client money. "Everybody I've spoken to who does remember her says her CV doesn't match her role," said one of the sources. Responsibility The Financial Services Register in the UK is a directory, started in 2001, that lists people in financial services companies who carry out a "controlled function", which usually involves managing money, advising people on financial matters or holding a senior management role. According to the register, Leadsom was an approved person for dealing with client money at Invesco Perpetual from December 2001 to February 2002. But there is no record of her on the register anytime after that. That does not indicate she was not employed by the fund but suggests she was not in a position with large responsibility for managing client money or in senior management. Invesco confirmed that Leadsom worked there between 1999 and 2009 but declined to comment further on what her roles involved. One of the former Invesco colleagues, Robert Stephens, said he contacted her last week after seeing her Wikipedia entry which sourced the 2013 edition of Who's Who, a well known biographical compilation of influential figures, as saying that she had been listed as Chief Investment Officer at Invesco. A Chief Investment Officer at a fund would usually have broad responsibility for looking after investor money and setting its investment strategy. Clarification Stephens says he is an open supporter of Britain remaining in the EU. He said that, beyond his position on the referendum, he was angered by Leadsom's claims about her financial career. Stephens said he approached Leadsom to clarify her role at the company. Leadsom has subsequently corrected the Wikipedia entry. Stephens said she denied to him that she had written the passage. Stephens and three sources said her work included assisting the then chief investment officer Bob Yerbury. Stephens said this included negotiating salaries for fund managers and working on special projects for him. Yerbury could not be reached for comment. "People are being seduced into thinking oh wonderful 25 years in the City. She got to the top of the City," Stephens, who worked as a global investment specialist at Invesco Perpetual at the same time between 1999 and 2009, told Reuters. "It assigns to her understanding of the way the financial world works which simply aren't so. The question is why she feels it necessary to self aggrandize herself in that way." Before Invesco Leadsom worked at Barclays from 1987 to 1997 where she says on her publicly released CV that her roles included "managing investment banks business" and "deputy financial institutions director". A source at Barclays bank said there had been emails sent around different departments in the investment bank in recent days trying to confirm her roles there. Barclays confirmed the dates she worked at the bank but declined to comment further. Some of Leadsom's supporters say the criticism from Stephens is uncalled for, even if there are questions about her career history. "I think most people are realistic to know when you write a CV, you don't write it so that people don't employ you ... you always make the most of it," said Anne Marie Morris, a conservative lawmaker, who was part of the same intake as Leadsom at the 2010 election and is one of her supporters. "The reality was that she wasn't making the tea, she was engaged in very serious deals and negotiations with very serious people." (Reuters)

Leadsom's career credentials come under scrutiny

A British inquiry into the Iraq War strongly criticised former Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government on Wednesday, saying they had led the country into war based on flawed intelligence that should have been challenged. 
 
The long-awaited inquiry report also said Britain had joined the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 without exhausting peaceful options, that the legal basis for military action was not satisfactory, and that the planning was wholly inadequate. 
 
Published seven years after the inquiry was set up, the report runs to 2.6 million words -- about three times the length of the Bible -- and includes details of exchanges Blair had with then US President George W Bush over the invasion. 
 
&quot;It is now clear that policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged and they should have been,&quot; the head of the inquiry, John Chilcot said in presenting its findings. 
 
Iraq remains in chaos to this day. Islamic State controls large areas of the country and 250 people died on Saturday in Baghdad&#39;s worst car bombing since the US-led coalition toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. The inquiry rejected Blair&#39;s view that Iraq&#39;s post-invasion problems could not have been known in advance. 
 
The inquiry&#39;s purpose was for the British government to learn lessons from the invasion and occupation that followed, in which 179 British soldiers died. 
 
Opponents of Blairs decision to join the war will pore over the report for its judgment on how the Labour leader, who quit in 2007, justified the military action. At the time, he said intelligence showed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction but after the invasion none was found. 
 
&quot;I was lied to. The media, the press, the families, parliament, everybody was lied to,&quot; Reg Keys, whose son was among the British fatalities and who stood as a candidate for parliament against Blair in the 2005 election, told Reuters TV ahead of the reports publication. 
 
Blair has always rejected any suggestions he acted dishonestly. He was expected to give his reaction to the report later on Wednesday. 
 
The inquiry looked at the reasons for the invasion, the war itself and the aftermath - and has taken longer to complete than the British military involvement itself. 
 
Public hearings, including two appearances by Blair, ended in 2011 but since then the writing of the report has been dogged by rows over the release of secret government files and the contacts between London and Washington. It includes details of notes from Blair to Bush and quotes from more than 130 records of their conversations. 
 
Critics believe Blair, who sent 45,000 British troops for the invasion, gave Bush an unconditional promise that Britain would join military action and that he then distorted intelligence to back this up and put pressure on government lawyers to give the invasion legal approval. 
 
Keys noted that Chilcot had said the inquiry would not play the blame game. 
 
&quot;But I certainly hope it points the finger of accountability in the direction of the former prime minister who was the key player with all of this deceit,&quot; Keys said. 
 
However, he said he feared the report might be watered down as those facing criticism have been allowed to respond prior to publication. 
 
In an interview with CNN last October, Blair apologised that the pre-war intelligence had been wrong and for mistakes in planning, but not for getting rid of Saddam. 
 
He also accepted the war had played a role in the rise of Islamic State but it was far from the only factor. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ve said many times over these past years, Ill wait for the report and then I will make my views known and express myself fully and properly,&quot; Blair told Sky News on Sunday. 
 
British media said lawmakers led by the Scottish National Party were considering invoking an ancient law, last used in 1806, to impeach Blair in parliament. 
 
&quot;You cannot have a situation where this country blunders into an illegal war with the appalling consequences and at the end of the day there isn`t a reckoning,&quot; SNP lawmaker Alex Salmond told Sky News. 
 
The Sunday Times newspaper also reported that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - whose own position is in jeopardy after Britain voted last month to leave the European Union - was simply hanging on because he wanted to &quot;crucify Blair&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
&#39;I will take full responsibility&#39;
Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he would take full responsibility for the failings made in the build up to the invasion of Iraq when he responds to a long-awaited inquiry later on Wednesday.

Inquiry Chairman John Chilcot said earlier on Wednesday that Blair&#39;s case for military action had been over-hyped.

&quot;The report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit,&quot; Blair said in an initial response. &quot;Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein; I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country.&quot;

Blair noted that the Chilcot report did make real and material criticisms of the preparation and planning for the war.

&quot;I will respond in detail to them later this afternoon,&quot; he said in a statement. &quot;I will take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse.&quot;
 
(Reuters)

Report finds Britain joined the invasion without exhausting peaceful options. Then PM Tony Blair says 'I will take full responsibility'

A British inquiry into the Iraq War strongly criticised former Prime Minister Tony Blair and his government on Wednesday, saying they had led the country into war based on flawed intelligence that should have been challenged. The long-awaited inquiry report also said Britain had joined the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 without exhausting peaceful options, that the legal basis for military action was not satisfactory, and that the planning was wholly inadequate. Published seven years after the inquiry was set up, the report runs to 2.6 million words -- about three times the length of the Bible -- and includes details of exchanges Blair had with then US President George W Bush over the invasion. "It is now clear that policy on Iraq was made on the basis of flawed intelligence and assessments. They were not challenged and they should have been," the head of the inquiry, John Chilcot said in presenting its findings. Iraq remains in chaos to this day. Islamic State controls large areas of the country and 250 people died on Saturday in Baghdad's worst car bombing since the US-led coalition toppled dictator Saddam Hussein. The inquiry rejected Blair's view that Iraq's post-invasion problems could not have been known in advance. The inquiry's purpose was for the British government to learn lessons from the invasion and occupation that followed, in which 179 British soldiers died. Opponents of Blairs decision to join the war will pore over the report for its judgment on how the Labour leader, who quit in 2007, justified the military action. At the time, he said intelligence showed that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction but after the invasion none was found. "I was lied to. The media, the press, the families, parliament, everybody was lied to," Reg Keys, whose son was among the British fatalities and who stood as a candidate for parliament against Blair in the 2005 election, told Reuters TV ahead of the reports publication. Blair has always rejected any suggestions he acted dishonestly. He was expected to give his reaction to the report later on Wednesday. The inquiry looked at the reasons for the invasion, the war itself and the aftermath - and has taken longer to complete than the British military involvement itself. Public hearings, including two appearances by Blair, ended in 2011 but since then the writing of the report has been dogged by rows over the release of secret government files and the contacts between London and Washington. It includes details of notes from Blair to Bush and quotes from more than 130 records of their conversations. Critics believe Blair, who sent 45,000 British troops for the invasion, gave Bush an unconditional promise that Britain would join military action and that he then distorted intelligence to back this up and put pressure on government lawyers to give the invasion legal approval. Keys noted that Chilcot had said the inquiry would not play the blame game. "But I certainly hope it points the finger of accountability in the direction of the former prime minister who was the key player with all of this deceit," Keys said. However, he said he feared the report might be watered down as those facing criticism have been allowed to respond prior to publication. In an interview with CNN last October, Blair apologised that the pre-war intelligence had been wrong and for mistakes in planning, but not for getting rid of Saddam. He also accepted the war had played a role in the rise of Islamic State but it was far from the only factor. "I've said many times over these past years, Ill wait for the report and then I will make my views known and express myself fully and properly," Blair told Sky News on Sunday. British media said lawmakers led by the Scottish National Party were considering invoking an ancient law, last used in 1806, to impeach Blair in parliament. "You cannot have a situation where this country blunders into an illegal war with the appalling consequences and at the end of the day there isn`t a reckoning," SNP lawmaker Alex Salmond told Sky News. The Sunday Times newspaper also reported that Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn - whose own position is in jeopardy after Britain voted last month to leave the European Union - was simply hanging on because he wanted to "crucify Blair". 'I will take full responsibility' Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said he would take full responsibility for the failings made in the build up to the invasion of Iraq when he responds to a long-awaited inquiry later on Wednesday. Inquiry Chairman John Chilcot said earlier on Wednesday that Blair's case for military action had been over-hyped. "The report should lay to rest allegations of bad faith, lies or deceit," Blair said in an initial response. "Whether people agree or disagree with my decision to take military action against Saddam Hussein; I took it in good faith and in what I believed to be the best interests of the country." Blair noted that the Chilcot report did make real and material criticisms of the preparation and planning for the war. "I will respond in detail to them later this afternoon," he said in a statement. "I will take full responsibility for any mistakes without exception or excuse." (Reuters)

Blair led Britain into Iraq War on flawed intelligence: UK inquiry

Interior minister Theresa May opened up a strong lead on Tuesday in what is now a three-horse race to become Britain&#39;s next Prime Minister, but the first stage of voting was overshadowed by post-Brexit carnage for property investors and the Pound. 
 
In symptoms of market concern about the economic impact of leaving the European Union, sterling hit new 31-year lows and three funds investing in British property said they were suspending trading because too many people were rushing to withdraw their money at once. 
 
May won 165 votes in a first ballot of Conservative members of parliament and Andrea Leadsom, a junior energy minister, won 66, increasing the likelihood that Britain will get only its second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher. Justice secretary Michael Gove was third on 48. 
 
Former defence minister Liam Fox won the fewest votes, 16, and was eliminated from the battle to replace David Cameron, who has said he will step down after Britons voted in a June 23 referendum to break away from the EU. 
 
Soon afterwards, work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb, who placed fourth with 34 votes, said he was pulling out and throwing his &quot;wholehearted support&quot; behind May. Fox said he would also back her.&nbsp; 
 
May, 59, said: &quot;There is a big job before us: to unite our party and the country, to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for everyone.&nbsp;I am the only candidate capable of delivering these three things as Prime Minister, and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of drawing support from the whole of the Conservative Party.&quot; 
 
&#39;No coronation&#39; 
 
The drawn-out selection process will ultimately be decided by about 150,000 Conservative Party members in September, once MPs have whittled the field down to two candidates. 
 
Given strong eurosceptic sentiment among grassroots Conservatives, Leadsom, 53, and Gove, 48, remain in contention. Both were leading voices in the victorious Leave campaign, while May favoured remaining inside the 28-nation EU. 
 
Leadsom backer Stewart Jackson told Sky News: &quot;This shows she&#39;s ready to go all the way, there isn&#39;t going to be a coronation&quot; of May. 
 
In the meantime, signs are multiplying that concern about the impact of Brexit on trade, investment and business confidence is starting to hit the economy. 
 
The 4.4-billion-Pound ($5.7 billion) Property Portfolio run by M&amp;G Investments, the fund arm of insurer Prudential, was the latest to suspend business on Tuesday afternoon. Insurer Aviva&#39;s fund arm had earlier stopped trading in its 1.8-billion-Pound UK Property Trust, while Standard Life Investments suspended a 2.9-billion-Pound fund late on Monday. 
 
Shares plunged in other property-related funds, and asset managers and insurers were also hit. 
 
The Pound, which has borne the brunt of market concern about potential damage to the economy, plumbed new 31-year lows and is now down more than 12 per cent since the referendum.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;There is evidence that some risks have begun to crystallise. The current outlook for UK financial stability is challenging,&quot; the Bank of England said, announcing measures to encourage banks to keep lending. 
 
In a possible blow to London&#39;s financial centre, Germany&#39;s Deutsche Boerse signalled on Tuesday that the headquarters of a European giant to be created from its merger with the London Stock Exchange Group may now have to be outside the United Kingdom. 
 
Voters were bombarded in the run-up to the referendum with warnings from Cameron and a host of financial institutions and think tanks that Brexit would plunge Britain into a self-inflicted recession by jeopardising its access to the EU&#39;s tariff-free single market. 
 
The Leave campaign derided such arguments as &#39;Project Fear&#39;, arguing Britain would prosper by regaining &#39;independence&#39; from Brussels and freeing itself to set its own laws, clinch its own trade deals and set a cap on immigration - something it cannot do under EU rules allowing free movement throughout the bloc. 
 
&#39;Bloody difficult woman&#39; 
 
Whoever wins the Conservative leadership and the keys to 10 Downing Street will have to stabilise the economy and unify a party that was deeply split by the referendum campaign. 
 
The victor will also need to decide when to initiate divorce proceedings with the EU, and how to extricate Britain from 43 years of membership while trying to negotiate favourable terms of trade. 
 
The most seasoned candidates in the field are May and Gove, who stunned colleagues and commentators alike when he abruptly withdrew his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson last week, effectively forcing him from the race. Leadsom entered parliament only six years ago after a long career in financial services, and has never served in the cabinet. 
 
Gove and Leadsom have both argued forcefully that the next prime minister should come from the winning side in the referendum, which would disqualify May. 
 
&quot;I&#39;ve managed to bring people together across the Conservative Party behind a hopeful and optimistic message of change, and I hope that I&#39;ll be able to take that message to the country,&quot; Gove said. 
 
In unguarded comments earlier on Tuesday, caught on camera and broadcast by Sky News, former Conservative minister Ken Clarke made disparaging remarks about all three contenders, saying that with Gove as Prime Minister &quot;we would go to war with at least three countries at once&quot;. 
 
He described May as &quot;a bloody difficult woman&quot;, but no more difficult than Thatcher, in whose cabinet he served. He added that she was &quot;good&quot;, but lacking in foreign policy experience. 
 
Of Leadsom, Clarke said: &quot;She does have experience in the city...She is not one of the tiny band of lunatics who think we can have a sort of glorious economic future outside the (EU) single market. So long as she understands that she&#39;s not to deliver on some of the extremely stupid things she&#39;s been saying.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)

The victor will need to decide when to pull out of the EU, and how to favourably extricate Britain after 43 years of membership

Interior minister Theresa May opened up a strong lead on Tuesday in what is now a three-horse race to become Britain's next Prime Minister, but the first stage of voting was overshadowed by post-Brexit carnage for property investors and the Pound. In symptoms of market concern about the economic impact of leaving the European Union, sterling hit new 31-year lows and three funds investing in British property said they were suspending trading because too many people were rushing to withdraw their money at once. May won 165 votes in a first ballot of Conservative members of parliament and Andrea Leadsom, a junior energy minister, won 66, increasing the likelihood that Britain will get only its second woman Prime Minister after Margaret Thatcher. Justice secretary Michael Gove was third on 48. Former defence minister Liam Fox won the fewest votes, 16, and was eliminated from the battle to replace David Cameron, who has said he will step down after Britons voted in a June 23 referendum to break away from the EU. Soon afterwards, work and pensions minister Stephen Crabb, who placed fourth with 34 votes, said he was pulling out and throwing his "wholehearted support" behind May. Fox said he would also back her. May, 59, said: "There is a big job before us: to unite our party and the country, to negotiate the best possible deal as we leave the EU, and to make Britain work for everyone. I am the only candidate capable of delivering these three things as Prime Minister, and tonight it is clear that I am also the only one capable of drawing support from the whole of the Conservative Party." 'No coronation' The drawn-out selection process will ultimately be decided by about 150,000 Conservative Party members in September, once MPs have whittled the field down to two candidates. Given strong eurosceptic sentiment among grassroots Conservatives, Leadsom, 53, and Gove, 48, remain in contention. Both were leading voices in the victorious Leave campaign, while May favoured remaining inside the 28-nation EU. Leadsom backer Stewart Jackson told Sky News: "This shows she's ready to go all the way, there isn't going to be a coronation" of May. In the meantime, signs are multiplying that concern about the impact of Brexit on trade, investment and business confidence is starting to hit the economy. The 4.4-billion-Pound ($5.7 billion) Property Portfolio run by M&G Investments, the fund arm of insurer Prudential, was the latest to suspend business on Tuesday afternoon. Insurer Aviva's fund arm had earlier stopped trading in its 1.8-billion-Pound UK Property Trust, while Standard Life Investments suspended a 2.9-billion-Pound fund late on Monday. Shares plunged in other property-related funds, and asset managers and insurers were also hit. The Pound, which has borne the brunt of market concern about potential damage to the economy, plumbed new 31-year lows and is now down more than 12 per cent since the referendum. "There is evidence that some risks have begun to crystallise. The current outlook for UK financial stability is challenging," the Bank of England said, announcing measures to encourage banks to keep lending. In a possible blow to London's financial centre, Germany's Deutsche Boerse signalled on Tuesday that the headquarters of a European giant to be created from its merger with the London Stock Exchange Group may now have to be outside the United Kingdom. Voters were bombarded in the run-up to the referendum with warnings from Cameron and a host of financial institutions and think tanks that Brexit would plunge Britain into a self-inflicted recession by jeopardising its access to the EU's tariff-free single market. The Leave campaign derided such arguments as 'Project Fear', arguing Britain would prosper by regaining 'independence' from Brussels and freeing itself to set its own laws, clinch its own trade deals and set a cap on immigration - something it cannot do under EU rules allowing free movement throughout the bloc. 'Bloody difficult woman' Whoever wins the Conservative leadership and the keys to 10 Downing Street will have to stabilise the economy and unify a party that was deeply split by the referendum campaign. The victor will also need to decide when to initiate divorce proceedings with the EU, and how to extricate Britain from 43 years of membership while trying to negotiate favourable terms of trade. The most seasoned candidates in the field are May and Gove, who stunned colleagues and commentators alike when he abruptly withdrew his support for former London mayor Boris Johnson last week, effectively forcing him from the race. Leadsom entered parliament only six years ago after a long career in financial services, and has never served in the cabinet. Gove and Leadsom have both argued forcefully that the next prime minister should come from the winning side in the referendum, which would disqualify May. "I've managed to bring people together across the Conservative Party behind a hopeful and optimistic message of change, and I hope that I'll be able to take that message to the country," Gove said. In unguarded comments earlier on Tuesday, caught on camera and broadcast by Sky News, former Conservative minister Ken Clarke made disparaging remarks about all three contenders, saying that with Gove as Prime Minister "we would go to war with at least three countries at once". He described May as "a bloody difficult woman", but no more difficult than Thatcher, in whose cabinet he served. He added that she was "good", but lacking in foreign policy experience. Of Leadsom, Clarke said: "She does have experience in the city...She is not one of the tiny band of lunatics who think we can have a sort of glorious economic future outside the (EU) single market. So long as she understands that she's not to deliver on some of the extremely stupid things she's been saying." (Reuters)

May leads three-horse PM race as Brexit hits Pound and property

British Prime Minister David Cameron, on Wednesday, told the leader of the main opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn, who is facing a revolt from MPs, to step down in the national interest. 
 
&quot;It might be in my party&#39;s interests for him to sit there, it&#39;s not in the national interests and I would say, for heaven&#39;s sake man, go,&quot; Cameron said to Corbyn at Prime Minister&#39;s Questions in Britain&#39;s parliament. 
 
Labour MPs voted against Corbyn in a no-confidence motion on Tuesday, by 172 to 40, after dozens of members of his frontbench team stepped down in recent days. But Corbyn has refused to go. 
 
Centrists have criticised the veteran socialist&#39;s leadership for months, but the row came to a head when he was accused of not campaigning enough in Britain&#39;s EU referendum, which delivered a shock &quot;Leave&quot; result last week. 
 
Corbyn was elected Labour leader last year on a wave of support from grassroots Labour members but has struggled to build broad support among MPs. 
 
Cameron has said he will step down in the wake of the referendum and will leave office when his successor is chosen in early September. 
 
(AFP)

Labour MPs voted against Jeremy Corbyn in a no-confidence motion by 172 to 40, but he has refused to go.

British Prime Minister David Cameron, on Wednesday, told the leader of the main opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn, who is facing a revolt from MPs, to step down in the national interest. "It might be in my party's interests for him to sit there, it's not in the national interests and I would say, for heaven's sake man, go," Cameron said to Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions in Britain's parliament. Labour MPs voted against Corbyn in a no-confidence motion on Tuesday, by 172 to 40, after dozens of members of his frontbench team stepped down in recent days. But Corbyn has refused to go. Centrists have criticised the veteran socialist's leadership for months, but the row came to a head when he was accused of not campaigning enough in Britain's EU referendum, which delivered a shock "Leave" result last week. Corbyn was elected Labour leader last year on a wave of support from grassroots Labour members but has struggled to build broad support among MPs. Cameron has said he will step down in the wake of the referendum and will leave office when his successor is chosen in early September. (AFP)

'For heaven's sake man, go,' Cameron tells Corbyn

UK car dealerships saw the same number of customers over the weekend as before Britons voted for Brexit last week, Britain&#39;s car industry association said on Wednesday, noting that it would not change its forecast for record sales this year. 
 
Car sales hit an all-time high of 2.63 million last year, boosted by cheap finance and easily available credit. 
 
The CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the pace of sales growth had slowed in recent months but that he was not immediately changing the forecast of about 2.7 million registrations in 2016. 
 
&quot;I wouldn&#39;t want to jump to conclusions on changing forecasts. In essence, the fundamentals of the market are still strong,&quot; Mike Hawes told reporters at a briefing in London. 
 
&quot;As I understand it, footfall in the dealerships over the weekend was pretty much where it should be despite three rugby test matches and six football matches which normally does have an impact.&quot; 
 
At the same briefing, Jaguar Land Rover&#39;s strategy director and Toyota&#39;s Europe CEO said they saw no short-term changes to their investment plans, which are often made years in advance. 
 
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which said it was committed to its British plants and a plan to build a new facility in Slovakia, said it could not envisage a harsh response such as high tariffs from EU allies on it or Britain&#39;s other high-end carmakers. 
 
&quot;I can&#39;t imagine any overly punitive measure in the premium end of the business that would cut off that market opportunity,&quot; JLR&#39;s Strategy Director, Adrian Hallmark, said. 
 
&quot;It would be cutting the European nose off to spite its face.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)

Jaguar Land Rover's strategy director said they saw no short-term changes to their investment plans planned in advance

UK car dealerships saw the same number of customers over the weekend as before Britons voted for Brexit last week, Britain's car industry association said on Wednesday, noting that it would not change its forecast for record sales this year. Car sales hit an all-time high of 2.63 million last year, boosted by cheap finance and easily available credit. The CEO of the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders said the pace of sales growth had slowed in recent months but that he was not immediately changing the forecast of about 2.7 million registrations in 2016. "I wouldn't want to jump to conclusions on changing forecasts. In essence, the fundamentals of the market are still strong," Mike Hawes told reporters at a briefing in London. "As I understand it, footfall in the dealerships over the weekend was pretty much where it should be despite three rugby test matches and six football matches which normally does have an impact." At the same briefing, Jaguar Land Rover's strategy director and Toyota's Europe CEO said they saw no short-term changes to their investment plans, which are often made years in advance. Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), which said it was committed to its British plants and a plan to build a new facility in Slovakia, said it could not envisage a harsh response such as high tariffs from EU allies on it or Britain's other high-end carmakers. "I can't imagine any overly punitive measure in the premium end of the business that would cut off that market opportunity," JLR's Strategy Director, Adrian Hallmark, said. "It would be cutting the European nose off to spite its face." (Reuters)

UK car industry: demand not hit by Brexit vote yet, forecast unchanged

British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Tuesday he was seriously considering entering the race to succeed David Cameron as prime minister. 
 
Hunt, who backed the campaign to stay in the European Union (EU), told ITV&#39;s Good Morning Britain programme he was weighing up whether to put his name forward before nominations for the next Conservative party leader close on Thursday.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;I am seriously considering it,&quot; he said &quot;What I want to do is to make the argument as to the kind of Britain that we need to be outside the EU. This is a big, big change and if we get it right we can succeed.&quot; 
 
Cameron announced he would resign after Britons voted to leave the EU. Boris Johnson, who was the most high-profile figure in the Leave camp, is the favourite to replace him, but a number of other prominent Conservatives are also thought to be considering a leadership bid. 
 
Hunt said Britain must remain part of the single market, and writing in the Daily Telegraph he said Britain could hold a second referendum on EU membership if it could broker a deal with the bloc to allow full control of its borders. 
 
&quot;I&#39;m not saying we have a second referendum on whether we remain in the EU,&quot; he told the BBC. &quot;We are leaving the EU...but what I am saying is that when we have negotiated the terms of our departure....I do think people should have a chance to have their say on those terms.&quot; 
 
Hunt said the prime minister who succeeded Cameron should be given a chance to negotiate with Brussels before Britain hands in its two-year notice to quit the EU, so they can put any deal on migration to the British public. 
 
&quot;So before setting the clock ticking we need to negotiate a deal and put it to the British people, either in a referendum or through the Conservative manifesto at a fresh general election,&quot; Hunt said. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

'So before setting the clock ticking we need to negotiate a deal and put it to the British people'

British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said on Tuesday he was seriously considering entering the race to succeed David Cameron as prime minister. Hunt, who backed the campaign to stay in the European Union (EU), told ITV's Good Morning Britain programme he was weighing up whether to put his name forward before nominations for the next Conservative party leader close on Thursday. "I am seriously considering it," he said "What I want to do is to make the argument as to the kind of Britain that we need to be outside the EU. This is a big, big change and if we get it right we can succeed." Cameron announced he would resign after Britons voted to leave the EU. Boris Johnson, who was the most high-profile figure in the Leave camp, is the favourite to replace him, but a number of other prominent Conservatives are also thought to be considering a leadership bid. Hunt said Britain must remain part of the single market, and writing in the Daily Telegraph he said Britain could hold a second referendum on EU membership if it could broker a deal with the bloc to allow full control of its borders. "I'm not saying we have a second referendum on whether we remain in the EU," he told the BBC. "We are leaving the EU...but what I am saying is that when we have negotiated the terms of our departure....I do think people should have a chance to have their say on those terms." Hunt said the prime minister who succeeded Cameron should be given a chance to negotiate with Brussels before Britain hands in its two-year notice to quit the EU, so they can put any deal on migration to the British public. "So before setting the clock ticking we need to negotiate a deal and put it to the British people, either in a referendum or through the Conservative manifesto at a fresh general election," Hunt said. (Reuters)

British health secretary likely to run for PM, pitches negotiations with EU

Chancellor&nbsp;George&nbsp;Osborne&nbsp;said&nbsp;on&nbsp;Tuesday&nbsp;that&nbsp;Britain&nbsp;would&nbsp;have&nbsp;to&nbsp;raise&nbsp;taxes&nbsp;and&nbsp;cut&nbsp;spending&nbsp;to&nbsp;deal&nbsp;with&nbsp;the&nbsp;economic&nbsp;challenge&nbsp; 
posed&nbsp;after&nbsp;Britons&nbsp;voted&nbsp;to&nbsp;leave&nbsp;the&nbsp;European&nbsp;Union&nbsp;(EU). 
 
&quot;We&nbsp;are&nbsp;absolutely&nbsp;going&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;to&nbsp;provide&nbsp;fiscal&nbsp;security&nbsp;to&nbsp;people,&nbsp;we&nbsp;are&nbsp;going&nbsp;to&nbsp;have&nbsp;to&nbsp;show&nbsp;the&nbsp;country&nbsp;and&nbsp;the world that&nbsp;the&nbsp;government&nbsp;can&nbsp;live&nbsp;within&nbsp;its&nbsp;means,&quot;&nbsp;he&nbsp;told&nbsp;BBC&nbsp;radio. 
 
Asked&nbsp;if&nbsp;that&nbsp;meant&nbsp;tax&nbsp;rises&nbsp;and&nbsp;spending&nbsp;cuts,&nbsp;he&nbsp;said:&nbsp;&quot;Yes,&nbsp;absolutely.&quot; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

'We?are?going?to?have?to?show?the?country?and?the world that?the?government?can?live?within?its?means'

Chancellor George Osborne said on Tuesday that Britain would have to raise taxes and cut spending to deal with the economic challenge posed after Britons voted to leave the European Union (EU). "We are absolutely going to have to provide fiscal security to people, we are going to have to show the country and the world that the government can live within its means," he told BBC radio. Asked if that meant tax rises and spending cuts, he said: "Yes, absolutely." (Reuters)

Britain to raise taxes in wake of EU divorce, says Osborne

Britain&#39;s opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn told more than 1,000 of his supporters to &quot;stand together&quot; on Monday, as he faces a no-confidence motion after almost all his policy team withdrew their support for him in protest after Britons voted to leave the European Union (EU).&nbsp; 
 
The noisy rally took place outside parliament where his party were meeting to discuss the no-confidence vote in Corbyn&#39;s leadership. After the meeting, Corbyn addressed his supporters, not directly mentioning the ongoing drama within his party. 
 
Corbyn has vowed to fight to retain control of Labour, resisting pressure to quit over what critics say was his lacklustre effort to keep Britain inside the European Union. 
 
Labour&#39;s Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and newly appointed Shadow Health Secretary Diane Abbott reaffirmed their support for Corbyn at the rally. 
 
The no-confidence motion is due to be voted on at a secret ballot on Tuesday, although it is not enough on its own to trigger a leadership contest -- something that requires 51 lawmakers to nominate a rival candidate. 
 
Corbyn was elected party leader last year on a surprise wave of grassroots enthusiasm for his left-wing agenda and promise of a new approach to politics. But his relationship with Labour&#39;s elected lawmakers has always been fragile, with many questioning whether the party could win an election on such a ticket. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Almost all of his policy team has withdrawn their support for him

Britain's opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn told more than 1,000 of his supporters to "stand together" on Monday, as he faces a no-confidence motion after almost all his policy team withdrew their support for him in protest after Britons voted to leave the European Union (EU). The noisy rally took place outside parliament where his party were meeting to discuss the no-confidence vote in Corbyn's leadership. After the meeting, Corbyn addressed his supporters, not directly mentioning the ongoing drama within his party. Corbyn has vowed to fight to retain control of Labour, resisting pressure to quit over what critics say was his lacklustre effort to keep Britain inside the European Union. Labour's Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell and newly appointed Shadow Health Secretary Diane Abbott reaffirmed their support for Corbyn at the rally. The no-confidence motion is due to be voted on at a secret ballot on Tuesday, although it is not enough on its own to trigger a leadership contest -- something that requires 51 lawmakers to nominate a rival candidate. Corbyn was elected party leader last year on a surprise wave of grassroots enthusiasm for his left-wing agenda and promise of a new approach to politics. But his relationship with Labour's elected lawmakers has always been fragile, with many questioning whether the party could win an election on such a ticket. (Reuters)

Corbyn faces no-confidence motion today, tells supporters to ?stand together?

Britain&#39;s opposition Labour leader said on Sunday he would not resign despite more than a third of his senior team withdrawing their support for him, plunging the party into crisis in the wake of Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU).&nbsp; 
 
Jeremy Corbyn, elected last year with the overwhelming support from grassroots Labour members, has faced criticism from some Labour lawmakers that he had not done enough to convince millions of voters in the party&#39;s heartlands to back remaining in the EU. 
 
&quot;I regret there have been resignations today from my shadow cabinet. But I am not going to betray the trust of those who voted for me, or the millions of supporters across the country who need Labour to represent them,&quot; Corbyn said in a statement. 
 
&quot;Those who want to change Labour&#39;s leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate.&quot; 
 
After a stinging election defeat for Labour last year, Corbyn won the leadership thanks to grassroots support but he has struggled to win the backing of Labour lawmakers, many of whom find themselves far closer to the centre ground than him. 
 
 
Cameron&#39;s resignation piles pressure on Labour party 
Britain is not due to hold a parliamentary election until 2020, but after Prime Minister David Cameron&#39;s announcement that he would resign after losing the referendum, many expect that one could now be called earlier by his successor &ndash; putting pressure on Labour to present itself as a credible alternative. 
 
&quot;I urge you, because you are a decent man, to do the decent thing and take the only action that can avert potential disaster by stepping aside,&quot; senior lawmaker Chris Bryant said in a letter to Corbyn, which he posted on Twitter. 
 
&quot;If you do so I believe future generations will praise your selflessness. If you refuse to step aside, I fear you will go down in history as the man who broke the Labour Party,&rdquo; the post on the microblogging said.&nbsp; 
 
Bryant, who said he was stepping down from his role in charge of Labour&#39;s parliamentary business, further underlined Corbyn&#39;s &quot;ambivalent attitude&quot; to the EU campaign had betrayed the Labour party and wider movement. 
 
Since the referendum, two Labour lawmakers have submitted a motion of no-confidence in Corbyn, calling for his leadership to be debated at a meeting of the party&#39;s lawmakers on Monday, followed by a secret ballot. 
 
Early on Sunday the Labour leader sacked his foreign policy chief Hilary Benn, after Benn said he had lost confidence in the ability of Corbyn, who is on the party&#39;s far left, to lead Labour. 
 
Over the course of the day, 11 others &ndash; Bryant, Gloria de Piero, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell, Ian Murray, Kerry McCarthy, Vernon Coaker, Charles Falconer, Lilian Greenwood, Karl Turner and Seema Malhotra &nbsp;- said they were stepping down from Corbyn&#39;s top team of 30 lawmakers, known as the &quot;shadow cabinet&quot;. 
 
Malhotra, a member of Corbyn&#39;s finance policy team who had introduced him at a speech on Saturday, said Labour needed to strengthen its influence at a time of such political and economic upheaval. 
 
&quot;We need to recognise that we do not currently look like a government in waiting,&quot; she said in a letter to Corbyn, which she also published on Twitter. 
 
Several of the others also said in statements that they doubted Corbyn&#39;s ability to lead the party to victory in the next election. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Stand in an election -- 'In which I will be a candidate' -- if you want to change Labour's leadership, says Britain's Opposition leader

Britain's opposition Labour leader said on Sunday he would not resign despite more than a third of his senior team withdrawing their support for him, plunging the party into crisis in the wake of Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU). Jeremy Corbyn, elected last year with the overwhelming support from grassroots Labour members, has faced criticism from some Labour lawmakers that he had not done enough to convince millions of voters in the party's heartlands to back remaining in the EU. "I regret there have been resignations today from my shadow cabinet. But I am not going to betray the trust of those who voted for me, or the millions of supporters across the country who need Labour to represent them," Corbyn said in a statement. "Those who want to change Labour's leadership will have to stand in a democratic election, in which I will be a candidate." After a stinging election defeat for Labour last year, Corbyn won the leadership thanks to grassroots support but he has struggled to win the backing of Labour lawmakers, many of whom find themselves far closer to the centre ground than him. Cameron's resignation piles pressure on Labour party Britain is not due to hold a parliamentary election until 2020, but after Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement that he would resign after losing the referendum, many expect that one could now be called earlier by his successor – putting pressure on Labour to present itself as a credible alternative. "I urge you, because you are a decent man, to do the decent thing and take the only action that can avert potential disaster by stepping aside," senior lawmaker Chris Bryant said in a letter to Corbyn, which he posted on Twitter. "If you do so I believe future generations will praise your selflessness. If you refuse to step aside, I fear you will go down in history as the man who broke the Labour Party,” the post on the microblogging said. Bryant, who said he was stepping down from his role in charge of Labour's parliamentary business, further underlined Corbyn's "ambivalent attitude" to the EU campaign had betrayed the Labour party and wider movement. Since the referendum, two Labour lawmakers have submitted a motion of no-confidence in Corbyn, calling for his leadership to be debated at a meeting of the party's lawmakers on Monday, followed by a secret ballot. Early on Sunday the Labour leader sacked his foreign policy chief Hilary Benn, after Benn said he had lost confidence in the ability of Corbyn, who is on the party's far left, to lead Labour. Over the course of the day, 11 others – Bryant, Gloria de Piero, Heidi Alexander, Lucy Powell, Ian Murray, Kerry McCarthy, Vernon Coaker, Charles Falconer, Lilian Greenwood, Karl Turner and Seema Malhotra - said they were stepping down from Corbyn's top team of 30 lawmakers, known as the "shadow cabinet". Malhotra, a member of Corbyn's finance policy team who had introduced him at a speech on Saturday, said Labour needed to strengthen its influence at a time of such political and economic upheaval. "We need to recognise that we do not currently look like a government in waiting," she said in a letter to Corbyn, which she also published on Twitter. Several of the others also said in statements that they doubted Corbyn's ability to lead the party to victory in the next election. (Reuters)

A third of his senior team withdraws support but Corbyn says he will not step down

Britain need not send a formal letter to the European Union (EU) to trigger a two-year countdown to its exit from the bloc, EU officials said, implying British Prime Minister David Cameron could start the process when he speaks at a summit on Tuesday. 
 
&quot;&#39;Triggering&#39; ... could either be a letter to the president of the European Council or an official statement at a meeting of the European Council duly noted in the official records of the meeting,&quot; a spokesman for the council of EU leaders said. 
 
A second EU official, asked about mounting frustration among leaders with the British prime minister&#39;s delay in delivering the formal notification required to launch divorce proceedings, said: &quot;It doesn&#39;t have to be written. He can just say it.&quot; 
 
Cameron will brief the other 27 national leaders over dinner at a European Council summit in Brussels&nbsp;on Tuesday on the outcome of Thursday&#39;s referendum at which Britons voted to leave the EU, prompting him to announce he will resign. 
 
On Friday, he said he would leave it to his successor as Conservative party leader and premier to trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty, which sets out a two-year process to quit the bloc. That appeared to be a reversal of a pledge to launch the process immediately after the vote. It has angered EU leaders who want a quick settlement to limit uncertainty. 
 
Some European leaders still expect Cameron himself to start the process in the coming days or weeks, officials said on Saturday. British officials were not immediately available. 
 
Meanwhile, some Brexit campaigners have long said that Britain should aim to negotiate a comprehensive new relationship with the EU, seeking access to markets without submitting to EU rules or open migration, before binding itself into the two-year timetable that would be fixed for talks if Article 50 is triggered. 
 
Such talk worries EU officials and leaders who fear that a prolonged haggling with London will further increase the risk of a domino effect of nationalist-led demands for exit from other states. They do not see a legal way to force Britain to start the process but have piled political pressure on Cameron to honour his pledge to launch Article 50 negotiations and respect the popular vote. 
 
&#39;Once you trigger it, you cannot take it back&#39;&nbsp; 
The Council spokesman made clear that leaders cannot simply choose to interpret something Cameron says as the trigger without the prime minister saying clearly he means it to be. 
 
&quot;The notification of Article 50 is a formal act and has to be done by the British government to the European Council,&quot; the spokesman said. &quot;It has to be done in an unequivocal manner with the explicit intent to trigger Article 50. 
 
&quot;Negotiations of leaving and the future relationship can only begin after such a formal notification. If it is indeed the intention of the British government to leave the EU, it is therefore in its interest to notify as soon as possible.&quot; 
 
Since the shock vote on Thursday, won 52-48 percent by the Leave camp in defiance of polls and the bulk of the British establishment, there have been calls in Britain for the result to be reviewed or for parliament to ignore the referendum. 
 
The second EU official, asked whether Britain could launch the process and then ask to stay, said that was not foreseen by the treaty: &quot;Once you trigger it, you cannot take it back.&quot; 
 
If a state fails to agree a departure treaty with the others, EU law simply stops applying to it after two years. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Officials say Britain does not need to send a formal letter to the union, Prime Minister Cameron 'can just say it'

Britain need not send a formal letter to the European Union (EU) to trigger a two-year countdown to its exit from the bloc, EU officials said, implying British Prime Minister David Cameron could start the process when he speaks at a summit on Tuesday. "'Triggering' ... could either be a letter to the president of the European Council or an official statement at a meeting of the European Council duly noted in the official records of the meeting," a spokesman for the council of EU leaders said. A second EU official, asked about mounting frustration among leaders with the British prime minister's delay in delivering the formal notification required to launch divorce proceedings, said: "It doesn't have to be written. He can just say it." Cameron will brief the other 27 national leaders over dinner at a European Council summit in Brussels on Tuesday on the outcome of Thursday's referendum at which Britons voted to leave the EU, prompting him to announce he will resign. On Friday, he said he would leave it to his successor as Conservative party leader and premier to trigger Article 50 of the EU treaty, which sets out a two-year process to quit the bloc. That appeared to be a reversal of a pledge to launch the process immediately after the vote. It has angered EU leaders who want a quick settlement to limit uncertainty. Some European leaders still expect Cameron himself to start the process in the coming days or weeks, officials said on Saturday. British officials were not immediately available. Meanwhile, some Brexit campaigners have long said that Britain should aim to negotiate a comprehensive new relationship with the EU, seeking access to markets without submitting to EU rules or open migration, before binding itself into the two-year timetable that would be fixed for talks if Article 50 is triggered. Such talk worries EU officials and leaders who fear that a prolonged haggling with London will further increase the risk of a domino effect of nationalist-led demands for exit from other states. They do not see a legal way to force Britain to start the process but have piled political pressure on Cameron to honour his pledge to launch Article 50 negotiations and respect the popular vote. 'Once you trigger it, you cannot take it back' The Council spokesman made clear that leaders cannot simply choose to interpret something Cameron says as the trigger without the prime minister saying clearly he means it to be. "The notification of Article 50 is a formal act and has to be done by the British government to the European Council," the spokesman said. "It has to be done in an unequivocal manner with the explicit intent to trigger Article 50. "Negotiations of leaving and the future relationship can only begin after such a formal notification. If it is indeed the intention of the British government to leave the EU, it is therefore in its interest to notify as soon as possible." Since the shock vote on Thursday, won 52-48 percent by the Leave camp in defiance of polls and the bulk of the British establishment, there have been calls in Britain for the result to be reviewed or for parliament to ignore the referendum. The second EU official, asked whether Britain could launch the process and then ask to stay, said that was not foreseen by the treaty: "Once you trigger it, you cannot take it back." If a state fails to agree a departure treaty with the others, EU law simply stops applying to it after two years. (Reuters)

Now that you've left... hurry up and leave, the EU tells Britain

Britain&#39;s vote to leave the European Union (EU) could open a period of turbulence for the country&#39;s airline industry, which has soared under the EU&#39;s Single European Sky system over the last two decades. 
 
Among the mass of agreements that Britain will have to renegotiate with Brussels are those governing flights between Britain and the rest of the EU. 
 
&quot;They are not long, the days of wine and roses,&quot; whether for airlines, airports or British air travellers, points out Peter Morris, chief economist at Ascend Flightglobal Consultancy. 
 
British airlines may not be able to introduce any route without prior authorisation&nbsp; 
The single sky system lifted trade restrictions on airlines controlled by EU member states or their nationals, and whose headquarters are located within the EU.&nbsp;Unless British negotiators manage to secure preferential conditions, British airlines will lose this status. 
 
This will mean they no longer enjoy rights including being able to freely set airfares, and to launch any route in Europe without getting authorisation in advance. 
 
In concrete terms, passengers leaving or arriving in the United Kingdom will face new taxes, while British airlines will be slower to develop new routes. 
 
Airlines in Britain might want to remain in Single European Sky&nbsp; 
The shares of two main key players in the sector, EasyJet and the International Airlines Group (IAG), plummeted Friday following the news of the shock Brexit vote, losing 14.35 percent and 22.54 respectively on the London market. 
 
Low-cost airline Ryanair, however, which campaigned vocally for Britain to remain in the EU, is a little less exposed because it is based in Ireland, even if it has a large presence in Britain. 
 
As soon as the referendum result became clear, EasyJet wrote to British and EU authorities pressing them to ensure that Britain remains in the Single European Sky. 
 
&quot;Britain being in Europe is the best thing for Britain,&quot; EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall told AFP a few months before Thursday&#39;s referendum. 
 
&quot;That is based on the fact that deregulation of aviation has been a fantastic benefit to consumers,&quot; she said, noting that it had reduced fares by 40 percent and increased routes by 170 percent. 
 
On Friday the airline insisted that Brexit will not have a major impact on its strategy, but also said it was working on alternative options to allow it to maintain its current network and operations. 
 
According to Morris, EasyJet, currently based at Luton airport north of London, &quot;will doubtless already have plans under way for a head office within the EU, perhaps under a different brand&quot;. 
 
He said he also expects that IAG, which includes British Airways and which is headquartered in London, will try to widen its network using its non-British subsidiary airlines, at the expense of British Airways. 
 
IAG also owns Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling as well as Ireland&#39;s Aer Lingus, which it could use to strengthen its operations around hubs in Dublin and Madrid. 
 
That could harm London&#39;s role as an international hub with five airports. 
 
Fall in demand for flights to Europe also likely&nbsp; 
The Brexit vote may have a few more consequences for the aviation sector in the country.&nbsp; 
 
On the downside for the British capital, tides of US and Asian passengers who transit via its airports could be attracted by offers from hubs which remain in the EU. 
 
Further, the long-debated construction of a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick, Britain&#39;s two main airports, could be delayed further if &quot;Leave&quot; campaign figurehead Boris Johnson becomes prime minister. 
 
The former London mayor, tipped as a frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron after the Brexit vote, has long campaigned for an alternative plan to build a new airport in the Thames estuary east of the capital. 
 
&quot;For Heathrow and its third runway the game&#39;s up,&quot; said John Strickland of JLS Consulting.&nbsp;He highlighted another more immediate consequence of the Brexit vote: the collapse of sterling on exchange markets. 
 
This will lead to higher fuel and lease costs, and a likely fall in demand for flights to Europe by British travellers whose pounds aren&#39;t worth as much on the continent since Thursday&#39;s shock vote. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
 
 
 
 
&nbsp;

In concrete terms, passengers leaving or arriving in United Kingdom may face new taxes, while British airlines will be slower to develop

Britain's vote to leave the European Union (EU) could open a period of turbulence for the country's airline industry, which has soared under the EU's Single European Sky system over the last two decades. Among the mass of agreements that Britain will have to renegotiate with Brussels are those governing flights between Britain and the rest of the EU. "They are not long, the days of wine and roses," whether for airlines, airports or British air travellers, points out Peter Morris, chief economist at Ascend Flightglobal Consultancy. British airlines may not be able to introduce any route without prior authorisation The single sky system lifted trade restrictions on airlines controlled by EU member states or their nationals, and whose headquarters are located within the EU. Unless British negotiators manage to secure preferential conditions, British airlines will lose this status. This will mean they no longer enjoy rights including being able to freely set airfares, and to launch any route in Europe without getting authorisation in advance. In concrete terms, passengers leaving or arriving in the United Kingdom will face new taxes, while British airlines will be slower to develop new routes. Airlines in Britain might want to remain in Single European Sky The shares of two main key players in the sector, EasyJet and the International Airlines Group (IAG), plummeted Friday following the news of the shock Brexit vote, losing 14.35 percent and 22.54 respectively on the London market. Low-cost airline Ryanair, however, which campaigned vocally for Britain to remain in the EU, is a little less exposed because it is based in Ireland, even if it has a large presence in Britain. As soon as the referendum result became clear, EasyJet wrote to British and EU authorities pressing them to ensure that Britain remains in the Single European Sky. "Britain being in Europe is the best thing for Britain," EasyJet chief executive Carolyn McCall told AFP a few months before Thursday's referendum. "That is based on the fact that deregulation of aviation has been a fantastic benefit to consumers," she said, noting that it had reduced fares by 40 percent and increased routes by 170 percent. On Friday the airline insisted that Brexit will not have a major impact on its strategy, but also said it was working on alternative options to allow it to maintain its current network and operations. According to Morris, EasyJet, currently based at Luton airport north of London, "will doubtless already have plans under way for a head office within the EU, perhaps under a different brand". He said he also expects that IAG, which includes British Airways and which is headquartered in London, will try to widen its network using its non-British subsidiary airlines, at the expense of British Airways. IAG also owns Spanish carriers Iberia and Vueling as well as Ireland's Aer Lingus, which it could use to strengthen its operations around hubs in Dublin and Madrid. That could harm London's role as an international hub with five airports. Fall in demand for flights to Europe also likely The Brexit vote may have a few more consequences for the aviation sector in the country. On the downside for the British capital, tides of US and Asian passengers who transit via its airports could be attracted by offers from hubs which remain in the EU. Further, the long-debated construction of a new runway at Heathrow or Gatwick, Britain's two main airports, could be delayed further if "Leave" campaign figurehead Boris Johnson becomes prime minister. The former London mayor, tipped as a frontrunner to succeed Prime Minister David Cameron after the Brexit vote, has long campaigned for an alternative plan to build a new airport in the Thames estuary east of the capital. "For Heathrow and its third runway the game's up," said John Strickland of JLS Consulting. He highlighted another more immediate consequence of the Brexit vote: the collapse of sterling on exchange markets. This will lead to higher fuel and lease costs, and a likely fall in demand for flights to Europe by British travellers whose pounds aren't worth as much on the continent since Thursday's shock vote. (AFP)

Brexit effect: Turbulent road ahead or sky full of opportunities for British airlines?

Brexit has apparently pushed the anxiety button in London as the British capital fears investors and bankers could flee the city after the nationwide vote arguably threatened its coveted reputation as a global financial hub. 
 
Some 60 percent of Londoners voted to stay in the EU in Thursday&#39;s historic referendum but the rest of the country cast their ballots overwhelmingly to leave.&nbsp; 
 
&#39;A fifth of all global banking activity takes place in London&#39;&nbsp; 
The capital&#39;s 8.6 million residents, whose GDP is about the same as that of oil-rich Norway, are anxious about the impact on the city&#39;s economy. The fear is that London will no longer be able to claim to serve as the gateway for US and Asian businesses into Europe&#39;s vast single market. 
 
&quot;Some firms that saw&nbsp;London&nbsp;as a platform for serving the integrated EU market will relocate at least part of their headquarters&#39; functions to other cities within the EU,&quot; said Greg Clark of the Brookings Institution. 
 
A first bank, US giant JP Morgan which employs around 16,000 staff in the United Kingdom, said Friday that it &quot;may need to make changes to our European legal entity structure and the location of some roles&quot;. 
 
It gave no figures, but chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon previously said that up to 4,000 jobs could move out of the UK. 
 
According to ratings agency Standard and Poor&#39;s, a fifth of all global banking activity takes place in London.&nbsp;Speculations are rife that a haemorrhaging of bankers would hit the city. 
 
It may be also be underlined that the financial sector provides one in three jobs, or some 1.25 million. &nbsp;Services overall represent 85 percent of jobs, having completely supplanted manufacturing which historically was the driving force of the capital. 
 
&quot;Although we will be outside the EU, it is crucial that we remain part of the single market,&quot; pro-EU&nbsp;London&nbsp;Mayor Sadiq Khan said Friday. 
 
&quot;It is crucial that&nbsp;London&nbsp;has a voice at the table during those renegotiations,&quot; added the Labour mayor, who took over in May from Conservative Boris Johnson, who went on to spearhead the &quot;Leave&quot; camp. 
 
A petition for&nbsp;London&nbsp;to have independence from the United Kingdom and make an application to join the EU started partly as a stunt. 
 
But it highlighted deep concerns and had by Saturday evening garnered more than 150,000 signatures for a so-called &quot;Lexit&rdquo;.&nbsp; 
 
&#39;Net job losses may not be high&#39;&nbsp; 
Despite these&nbsp;fears, Clark of the Brookings Institution said that in the end &quot;the total number of net job losses in&nbsp;London&nbsp;may not be high, as corporations will re-organise rather than leave&quot;. 
 
&quot;London&nbsp;will remain a good location to service global markets,&quot; he added. 
 
The city, whose GDP grew by 3.3 percent last year against 2.3 percent for the whole country, remains well-placed: it speaks English, the international language of business, as well as being cosmopolitan and culturally rich. 
 
London&#39;s successful hosting of the 2012 Olympics, which saw huge investment notably in transport infrastructure, burnished its reputation as a global capital. 
 
Real estate on frontline 
If well-paid bankers and other expatriates flee London for Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin, a whole swathe of the economy which depends on higher spending power will suffer, from luxury real estate agencies to select private schools. 
 
The first sector to pay the price might be bricks and mortar. 
 
&quot;In our view the decision to leave the EU will be most keenly felt in the&nbsp;Londonhousing market which is fully valued and already facing headwinds,&quot; said real estate specialists Hometrack. 
 
&quot;History shows that external shocks have led to falls in turnover by as much as 20 percent,&quot; it added. 
 
That kind of slump could put downward pressure on prices, actually good news finally for many prospective buyers and renters in a city where homes have become increasingly unaffordable, and where prices have been rising by 13 percent a year. 
 
Seeking silver linings, Clark also points out another potential advantage. 
 
&quot;London&nbsp;will also present a diversification opportunity for investors who want to hedge against the EU,&quot; for example if another euro currency crisis hits, &quot;but be part of Europe&#39;s growth story&quot;, he said. 
 
&quot;London&nbsp;may even garner a &#39;first (EU) leaver&#39; advantage. The British pound has always served as a currency hedge for the euro, and this function may even strengthen it,&quot; he said.&nbsp; 
 
(AFP)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

The fear is that?London?will no longer be able to claim to serve as the gateway for US and Asian businesses into Europe's vast single market

Brexit has apparently pushed the anxiety button in London as the British capital fears investors and bankers could flee the city after the nationwide vote arguably threatened its coveted reputation as a global financial hub. Some 60 percent of Londoners voted to stay in the EU in Thursday's historic referendum but the rest of the country cast their ballots overwhelmingly to leave. 'A fifth of all global banking activity takes place in London' The capital's 8.6 million residents, whose GDP is about the same as that of oil-rich Norway, are anxious about the impact on the city's economy. The fear is that London will no longer be able to claim to serve as the gateway for US and Asian businesses into Europe's vast single market. "Some firms that saw London as a platform for serving the integrated EU market will relocate at least part of their headquarters' functions to other cities within the EU," said Greg Clark of the Brookings Institution. A first bank, US giant JP Morgan which employs around 16,000 staff in the United Kingdom, said Friday that it "may need to make changes to our European legal entity structure and the location of some roles". It gave no figures, but chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon previously said that up to 4,000 jobs could move out of the UK. According to ratings agency Standard and Poor's, a fifth of all global banking activity takes place in London. Speculations are rife that a haemorrhaging of bankers would hit the city. It may be also be underlined that the financial sector provides one in three jobs, or some 1.25 million. Services overall represent 85 percent of jobs, having completely supplanted manufacturing which historically was the driving force of the capital. "Although we will be outside the EU, it is crucial that we remain part of the single market," pro-EU London Mayor Sadiq Khan said Friday. "It is crucial that London has a voice at the table during those renegotiations," added the Labour mayor, who took over in May from Conservative Boris Johnson, who went on to spearhead the "Leave" camp. A petition for London to have independence from the United Kingdom and make an application to join the EU started partly as a stunt. But it highlighted deep concerns and had by Saturday evening garnered more than 150,000 signatures for a so-called "Lexit”. 'Net job losses may not be high' Despite these fears, Clark of the Brookings Institution said that in the end "the total number of net job losses in London may not be high, as corporations will re-organise rather than leave". "London will remain a good location to service global markets," he added. The city, whose GDP grew by 3.3 percent last year against 2.3 percent for the whole country, remains well-placed: it speaks English, the international language of business, as well as being cosmopolitan and culturally rich. London's successful hosting of the 2012 Olympics, which saw huge investment notably in transport infrastructure, burnished its reputation as a global capital. Real estate on frontline If well-paid bankers and other expatriates flee London for Frankfurt, Paris or Dublin, a whole swathe of the economy which depends on higher spending power will suffer, from luxury real estate agencies to select private schools. The first sector to pay the price might be bricks and mortar. "In our view the decision to leave the EU will be most keenly felt in the Londonhousing market which is fully valued and already facing headwinds," said real estate specialists Hometrack. "History shows that external shocks have led to falls in turnover by as much as 20 percent," it added. That kind of slump could put downward pressure on prices, actually good news finally for many prospective buyers and renters in a city where homes have become increasingly unaffordable, and where prices have been rising by 13 percent a year. Seeking silver linings, Clark also points out another potential advantage. "London will also present a diversification opportunity for investors who want to hedge against the EU," for example if another euro currency crisis hits, "but be part of Europe's growth story", he said. "London may even garner a 'first (EU) leaver' advantage. The British pound has always served as a currency hedge for the euro, and this function may even strengthen it," he said. (AFP)

Brexit effect: Possible hemorrhaging of bankers may hit London's long-booming economy?

With early returns indicating a close result and prompting big swings in the value of sterling, oil prices fell after voting ended in a UK referendum on whether to stay in the European Union (EU). 
 
While U.S. crude was down 35 cents at $49.76 a barrel at 0001 GMT; Brent crude was down 27 cents at $50.64 a barrel.&nbsp; 
On Thursday, both contracts rose sharply, rallying on optimism the Britons would vote to stay in Europe. 
 
Pertinently, the first few official results on Friday put the &#39;Brexit&#39; campaign ahead, although opinion polls suggest that the vote will end in a victory for the &#39;remain&#39; campaign.&nbsp; 
 
Also, with results in from the first five of 382 voting districts, those in favour of ending Britain&#39;s 43-year membership had a small lead, but it was too early to discern a reliable trend. 
 
Sterling slumped to $1.4475, having earlier hit a high for the year at $1.5022. The euro turned tail to hit $1.1324 and the yen recouped early losses to stand at 104.96 per dollar. 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp;

Albeit, opinion polls have suggested that the vote will end in a victory for the 'remain' campaign

With early returns indicating a close result and prompting big swings in the value of sterling, oil prices fell after voting ended in a UK referendum on whether to stay in the European Union (EU). While U.S. crude was down 35 cents at $49.76 a barrel at 0001 GMT; Brent crude was down 27 cents at $50.64 a barrel. On Thursday, both contracts rose sharply, rallying on optimism the Britons would vote to stay in Europe. Pertinently, the first few official results on Friday put the 'Brexit' campaign ahead, although opinion polls suggest that the vote will end in a victory for the 'remain' campaign. Also, with results in from the first five of 382 voting districts, those in favour of ending Britain's 43-year membership had a small lead, but it was too early to discern a reliable trend. Sterling slumped to $1.4475, having earlier hit a high for the year at $1.5022. The euro turned tail to hit $1.1324 and the yen recouped early losses to stand at 104.96 per dollar. (Reuters)

Oil prices fall after as first few results put 'Brexit' ahead

The UK referendum results and possibility of Brexit has caught the world attention and back at home, head of the anti-European Union (EU) UK Independence Party (UKIP) is probably not too pleased with the early results hinting that country may remain with 28-member bloc. 
 
Britain may have voted to remain in the European Union at the membership referendum but the bloc is doomed regardless, Nigel Farage Thursday said. He also opined that Britain had voted to remain in the EU, possibly because of an extension of a deadline for people to register to vote. 
 
It may be recalled that the voter registration period for June 23 referendum was extended by 48 hours earlier this month, after a late surge in applications crashed a key website shortly before an original deadline. 
 
&quot;The eurosceptic genie is out of the bottle, and it will now not be put back,&quot; he told supporters, in comments carried on local television. 
 
&quot;If we do stay part of this union it is doomed, it is finished anyway. If we fail tonight it will not be us that knocks out the first brick from the wall, it will be someone else.&quot; 
 
&quot;I hope and pray that my sense of this tonight is wrong,&quot; Farage said.&nbsp; 
 
He repeated his forecast that Remain would narrowly win even after official results which showed a better-than-expected performance for Leave in two northern cities, Sunderland and Newcastle, that nudged his camp just ahead of the Remain camp with five out of 382 areas declared. 
 
&quot;My sense of this is that the government&#39;s registration scheme, getting 2 million voters, the 48-hour extension, may be what tips the balance,&quot; he commented.&nbsp; 
 
(Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

'If we fail tonight it will not be us that knocks out the first brick from the wall, it will be someone else,' he said

The UK referendum results and possibility of Brexit has caught the world attention and back at home, head of the anti-European Union (EU) UK Independence Party (UKIP) is probably not too pleased with the early results hinting that country may remain with 28-member bloc. Britain may have voted to remain in the European Union at the membership referendum but the bloc is doomed regardless, Nigel Farage Thursday said. He also opined that Britain had voted to remain in the EU, possibly because of an extension of a deadline for people to register to vote. It may be recalled that the voter registration period for June 23 referendum was extended by 48 hours earlier this month, after a late surge in applications crashed a key website shortly before an original deadline. "The eurosceptic genie is out of the bottle, and it will now not be put back," he told supporters, in comments carried on local television. "If we do stay part of this union it is doomed, it is finished anyway. If we fail tonight it will not be us that knocks out the first brick from the wall, it will be someone else." "I hope and pray that my sense of this tonight is wrong," Farage said. He repeated his forecast that Remain would narrowly win even after official results which showed a better-than-expected performance for Leave in two northern cities, Sunderland and Newcastle, that nudged his camp just ahead of the Remain camp with five out of 382 areas declared. "My sense of this is that the government's registration scheme, getting 2 million voters, the 48-hour extension, may be what tips the balance," he commented. (Reuters)

Britain may Remain but EU doomed anyway: UKIP chief

As initial results of Britain`s European Union membership referendum suggested the &lsquo;Leave&rsquo; vote performed better than expected, the pound dived in early Asian trading Friday tumbling from 2016 highs.&nbsp; 
 
Sterling briefly dived to just below $1.43 from above $1.50 -- its highest this year -- while it dropped to 79.17 pence to the euro, from around 76 pence earlier Friday. 
 
Britain`s currency seemingly did a U-turn as results from Sunderland in the northeast showed voters there had opted to leave the 28-member EU by a significant margin - 61 per cent against 39 per cent in favour of staying. 
 
Markets confident that Brexit could be averted 
Meanwhile, in neighbouring Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the margin of victory for the &lsquo;Remain&rsquo; camp was much smaller than expected, with just 50.7 percent of voters choosing to stay with the bloc. 
 
The result of the vote will not be known until around 0800 GMT Friday. However, markets had been growing increasingly confident that a so-called Brexit would be averted, although some analysts were concerned the markets could get it wrong.&nbsp; 
 
In response to the initial vote results, the yen surged nearly three percent on the dollar to just above 103, its highest levels since 2014, as traders flocked to safe-haven currencies. 
 
Notably, investors tend to buy the yen in times of uncertainty and turmoil. 
 
 
&lsquo;British exit could hammer world markets&rsquo; 
This week, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and US Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen were among the voices warning that a British exit could hammer world markets. 
 
&quot;The strong risk-on rally this week limits the upside from here on any `Remain` outcome and sets the scene for a much larger downward correction on a shock `Leave` outcome,&quot; said Jason Wong, a currency analyst at Bank of New Zealand. 
 
Over the past four days, financial markets had rallied as the pro-EU campaign recovered momentum, but the inital vote results underscored how tight the race might be. 
 
While some opinion polls before the vote showed the &#39;Leave&#39; side with the slimmest of leads, bookmakers were giving a more decisive edge to the &#39;Remain&#39; camp. 
 
(AFP)&nbsp;

But markets and bookmakers still say the Remain camp will win

As initial results of Britain`s European Union membership referendum suggested the ‘Leave’ vote performed better than expected, the pound dived in early Asian trading Friday tumbling from 2016 highs. Sterling briefly dived to just below $1.43 from above $1.50 -- its highest this year -- while it dropped to 79.17 pence to the euro, from around 76 pence earlier Friday. Britain`s currency seemingly did a U-turn as results from Sunderland in the northeast showed voters there had opted to leave the 28-member EU by a significant margin - 61 per cent against 39 per cent in favour of staying. Markets confident that Brexit could be averted Meanwhile, in neighbouring Newcastle-upon-Tyne, the margin of victory for the ‘Remain’ camp was much smaller than expected, with just 50.7 percent of voters choosing to stay with the bloc. The result of the vote will not be known until around 0800 GMT Friday. However, markets had been growing increasingly confident that a so-called Brexit would be averted, although some analysts were concerned the markets could get it wrong. In response to the initial vote results, the yen surged nearly three percent on the dollar to just above 103, its highest levels since 2014, as traders flocked to safe-haven currencies. Notably, investors tend to buy the yen in times of uncertainty and turmoil. ‘British exit could hammer world markets’ This week, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and US Federal Reserve boss Janet Yellen were among the voices warning that a British exit could hammer world markets. "The strong risk-on rally this week limits the upside from here on any `Remain` outcome and sets the scene for a much larger downward correction on a shock `Leave` outcome," said Jason Wong, a currency analyst at Bank of New Zealand. Over the past four days, financial markets had rallied as the pro-EU campaign recovered momentum, but the inital vote results underscored how tight the race might be. While some opinion polls before the vote showed the 'Leave' side with the slimmest of leads, bookmakers were giving a more decisive edge to the 'Remain' camp. (AFP)

First Brexit results in: Leave performs better than expected, pound dives

US President, Barack Obama&nbsp; 
&quot;The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision,&quot; Obama said in a statement. &quot;The United Kingdom and the European Union will remain indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
British Prime Minister, David Cameron&nbsp; 
&quot;I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination ... it is in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Russian President, Vladimir Putin 
&quot;I think it is understandable why this happened: first, no one wants to feed and subsidise weaker economies ...second, people are apparently dissatisfied with the resolution of security issues, which has become more acute against the background of powerful migration processes.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Chinese fogeign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying 
&quot;The impact will be on all levels, not only on relations between China and Britain ... China supports the European integration process and would like to see Europe playing a proactive role in international affairs.&quot; 
 
US Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump 
&quot;They took back control of their country. It&#39;s a great thing ...people are angry, all over the world ...they&#39;re angry over borders, they&#39;re angry over people coming into the country and taking over. Nobody even knows who they are. They&#39;re angry about many, many things.&quot; 
 
Pope Francis 
&quot;It was the will expressed by the people and this requires a great responsibility on the part of all of us to guarantee the good of the people of the United Kingdom, as well as the good and co-existence of the European continent.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
World Trade Organisation director, general Roberto Azevedo&nbsp; 
&quot;The WTO stands ready to work with the UK and the EU to assist them in any way we can,&quot; WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo said on Twitter.&nbsp; 
Azevedo warned in a speech this month that British business competitiveness would suffer if Britons voted to leave the European Union. &quot;While trade would continue, it could be on worse terms,&quot; he said at the time of a vote to leave the EU.&nbsp; 
He has already said that Britain would have to renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the WTO, which could take years or decades.&nbsp; 
 
EU foreign policy head, Federica Mogherini? 
&quot;We will continue to act as a force for peace, a provider of security, and a staunch supporter of international cooperation and multilateralism,&quot; Federica Mogherini said, adding she regretted Britain&#39;s decision to leave.&nbsp; 
 
European Council President, Donald Tusk 
&quot;We are determined to keep our unity as 27 ... I will propose that we start a period of wider reflection on the future of our union.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Leading figure in &quot;Leave&quot; campaign, Boris Johnson 
&quot;We can find our voice in the world again, a voice that is commensurate with the fifth-biggest economy on Earth ... I believe we now have a glorious opportunity: we can pass our laws and set our taxes entirely according to the needs of the UK economy ...&nbsp; 
&quot;There is now no need for haste and ... nothing will change over the short term.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
German chancellor, Angela Merkel 
&quot;We have to recognise the decision of the majority of the British people with deep regret today. There is no point beating about the bush: today is a watershed for Europe, it is a watershed for the European unification process.&quot; 
 
French President, Francois Hollande&nbsp; 
&quot;Europe must act quickly where it&#39;s needed and must, once and for all, let member states handle what is their exclusive domain.&quot; 
 
French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls 
&quot;It&#39;s an explosive shock. At stake is the break-up pure and simple of the union. Now is the time to invent another Europe.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Norwegian Prime Minister: Erna Solberg 
Solberg called the vote a &quot;signal from both the British voters and many other voters around Europe who feel that the EU is not providing good enough answers to today&#39;s challenges&quot;. 
 
Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban 
&quot;Brussels must hear the voice of the people, this is the biggest lesson from this decision.&quot; 
&quot;Europe is strong only if it can give answers to major issues such as immigration that would strengthen Europe itself and not weaken it. The EU has failed to give these answers.&quot; 
 
Polish President, Andrzej Duda 
&quot;Everything must be done to prevent other countries leaving.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi&nbsp; 
&quot;We have to change (the EU) to make it more human and more just, but Europe is our home, it&#39;s our future.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Acting Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy 
&quot;In little more than half a century, Europeans have built the greatest space for peace, freedom and prosperity in all of humanity&rsquo;s history. And, despite the serious setbacks like the one we face today, nobody should doubt that we are going to continue working to build tomorrow.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
Swedish EU Minister, Ann Linde 
&quot;We must show people why we believe the EU is important, why we need to remain. We have to look at the things that matter in people&#39;s everyday lives, perhaps where there have been ambiguities, where there&#39;s been arrogance and where people have felt it&#39;s been an elite project.&quot; 
 
Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras 
&quot;We urgently need a new vision and beginning for a united Europe - for a better Europe, more social and democratic.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
First minister of Scotland, Nicola Strugeon 
&quot;I think an independence referendum is now highly likely ... intend to take all possible steps and explore all options to give effect to how people in Scotland voted, in other words to secure our continuing place in the EU and in the single market.&quot; 
 
Nationalist deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, Martin Mcguinness 
&quot;The British government now has no democratic mandate to represent the views of the North in any future negotiations with the European Union and I do believe that there is a democratic imperative for a &#39;border poll&#39; to be held.&quot;&nbsp; 
 
United Nations Secretary-General, Ban-Ki-Moon 
The UN Secretary-General expects Britain to continue its leadership at the world body particularly on development issues after the country, a Security Council veto power, voted to leave the European Union.&nbsp; 
&quot;At the UN, we look forward to continuing our work with the United Kingdom and the European Union, both important partners,&quot; Ban&#39;s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Friday. &quot;When we work together, we are stronger.&quot;&nbsp; 
He said that as Britain and the European Union begin to negotiate a departure, Ban &quot;trusts in Europe&#39;s well-proven history of pragmatism and common responsibility in the interest of European citizens&quot;.&nbsp; 
 
International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Christine Lagarde&nbsp; 
On Friday Lagarde urged British and European authorities to work towards a smooth transition implementing Britons&#39; vote to leave the European Union.&nbsp; 
&quot;We take note of the decision by the people of the United Kingdom,&quot; Lagarde said in a statement. &quot;We urge the authorities in the UK and Europe to work collaboratively to ensure a smooth transition to a new economic relationship between the UK and the EU, including by clarifying the procedures and broad objectives that will guide the process.&quot;&nbsp; 
&quot;We strongly support commitments of the Bank of England and the ECB to supply liquidity to the banking system and curtail excess financial volatility. We will continue to monitor developments closely and stand ready to support our members as needed,&quot; Lagarde added.&nbsp; 
&nbsp; 
&nbsp;(Reuters)

Read quotes from around the globe about the UK exiting the European Union

US President, Barack Obama "The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision," Obama said in a statement. "The United Kingdom and the European Union will remain indispensable partners of the United States even as they begin negotiating their ongoing relationship." British Prime Minister, David Cameron "I do not think it would be right for me to try to be the captain that steers our country to its next destination ... it is in the national interest to have a period of stability and then the new leadership required." Russian President, Vladimir Putin "I think it is understandable why this happened: first, no one wants to feed and subsidise weaker economies ...second, people are apparently dissatisfied with the resolution of security issues, which has become more acute against the background of powerful migration processes." Chinese fogeign ministry spokeswoman, Hua Chunying "The impact will be on all levels, not only on relations between China and Britain ... China supports the European integration process and would like to see Europe playing a proactive role in international affairs." US Republican presidential candidate, Donald Trump "They took back control of their country. It's a great thing ...people are angry, all over the world ...they're angry over borders, they're angry over people coming into the country and taking over. Nobody even knows who they are. They're angry about many, many things." Pope Francis "It was the will expressed by the people and this requires a great responsibility on the part of all of us to guarantee the good of the people of the United Kingdom, as well as the good and co-existence of the European continent." World Trade Organisation director, general Roberto Azevedo "The WTO stands ready to work with the UK and the EU to assist them in any way we can," WTO director-general Roberto Azevedo said on Twitter. Azevedo warned in a speech this month that British business competitiveness would suffer if Britons voted to leave the European Union. "While trade would continue, it could be on worse terms," he said at the time of a vote to leave the EU. He has already said that Britain would have to renegotiate its relationship with the rest of the WTO, which could take years or decades. EU foreign policy head, Federica Mogherini? "We will continue to act as a force for peace, a provider of security, and a staunch supporter of international cooperation and multilateralism," Federica Mogherini said, adding she regretted Britain's decision to leave. European Council President, Donald Tusk "We are determined to keep our unity as 27 ... I will propose that we start a period of wider reflection on the future of our union." Leading figure in "Leave" campaign, Boris Johnson "We can find our voice in the world again, a voice that is commensurate with the fifth-biggest economy on Earth ... I believe we now have a glorious opportunity: we can pass our laws and set our taxes entirely according to the needs of the UK economy ... "There is now no need for haste and ... nothing will change over the short term." German chancellor, Angela Merkel "We have to recognise the decision of the majority of the British people with deep regret today. There is no point beating about the bush: today is a watershed for Europe, it is a watershed for the European unification process." French President, Francois Hollande "Europe must act quickly where it's needed and must, once and for all, let member states handle what is their exclusive domain." French Prime Minister, Manuel Valls "It's an explosive shock. At stake is the break-up pure and simple of the union. Now is the time to invent another Europe." Norwegian Prime Minister: Erna Solberg Solberg called the vote a "signal from both the British voters and many other voters around Europe who feel that the EU is not providing good enough answers to today's challenges". Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban "Brussels must hear the voice of the people, this is the biggest lesson from this decision." "Europe is strong only if it can give answers to major issues such as immigration that would strengthen Europe itself and not weaken it. The EU has failed to give these answers." Polish President, Andrzej Duda "Everything must be done to prevent other countries leaving." Italian Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi "We have to change (the EU) to make it more human and more just, but Europe is our home, it's our future." Acting Spanish Prime Minister, Mariano Rajoy "In little more than half a century, Europeans have built the greatest space for peace, freedom and prosperity in all of humanity’s history. And, despite the serious setbacks like the one we face today, nobody should doubt that we are going to continue working to build tomorrow." Swedish EU Minister, Ann Linde "We must show people why we believe the EU is important, why we need to remain. We have to look at the things that matter in people's everyday lives, perhaps where there have been ambiguities, where there's been arrogance and where people have felt it's been an elite project." Greek Prime Minister, Alexis Tsipras "We urgently need a new vision and beginning for a united Europe - for a better Europe, more social and democratic." First minister of Scotland, Nicola Strugeon "I think an independence referendum is now highly likely ... intend to take all possible steps and explore all options to give effect to how people in Scotland voted, in other words to secure our continuing place in the EU and in the single market." Nationalist deputy first minister of Northern Ireland, Martin Mcguinness "The British government now has no democratic mandate to represent the views of the North in any future negotiations with the European Union and I do believe that there is a democratic imperative for a 'border poll' to be held." United Nations Secretary-General, Ban-Ki-Moon The UN Secretary-General expects Britain to continue its leadership at the world body particularly on development issues after the country, a Security Council veto power, voted to leave the European Union. "At the UN, we look forward to continuing our work with the United Kingdom and the European Union, both important partners," Ban's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement on Friday. "When we work together, we are stronger." He said that as Britain and the European Union begin to negotiate a departure, Ban "trusts in Europe's well-proven history of pragmatism and common responsibility in the interest of European citizens". International Monetary Fund Managing Director, Christine Lagarde On Friday Lagarde urged British and European authorities to work towards a smooth transition implementing Britons' vote to leave the European Union. "We take note of the decision by the people of the United Kingdom," Lagarde said in a statement. "We urge the authorities in the UK and Europe to work collaboratively to ensure a smooth transition to a new economic relationship between the UK and the EU, including by clarifying the procedures and broad objectives that will guide the process." "We strongly support commitments of the Bank of England and the ECB to supply liquidity to the banking system and curtail excess financial volatility. We will continue to monitor developments closely and stand ready to support our members as needed," Lagarde added. (Reuters)

World leaders respond to Brexit

Close on the heels of the murder of British MP Jo Cox, United Kingdom is polling on Thursday to decide if the country will &lsquo;leave&rsquo; or &lsquo;remain&rsquo; in the European Union (EU). 
 
Apart from Asian markets wobbling and oil prices rising, reactions are pouring in from all quarters of the world, both favouring and defying the idea of the British exit from EU.&nbsp; 
 
United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, who favours Brexit, reportedly pulled out of a television debate right ahead of the EU referendum. While polling started this morning, he had already been actively urging the social media users on Twitter to &lsquo;vote&rsquo; and &lsquo;get our country back&rsquo;.&nbsp; 
 
Brexit would raise eyebrows in Ireland&nbsp; 
 
Expressing concern, however, Ireland foreign minister Charlie Flanagan Wednesday said that Ireland would have to consider taking steps to assist firms exporting into Britain, if its nearest neighbour and largest trade partner votes to leave the European Union.&nbsp; 
 
According to observers, Irish exporters would be the first to suffer if Brexit significantly weakened the Pound against the Euro and Flanagan said concerns were raised in meetings with trade bodies during the campaign. 
 
&quot;It&#39;s too early for me to speculate as to the nature of any actions that we may take, but we are fully sensitive to the challenge that lies ahead and the need to respond accordingly,&quot; Flanagan said and added, &ldquo;In the event of there being a vote to leave, we would be primarily focused on strategic national Irish interests across a range of issues, primarily economic and trade, so we have prepared a plan across a range of departments.&quot; 
 
About Euro 1.2 billion ($1.35 billion) worth of goods and services are traded between United Kingdom and Ireland each week with Irish farmers and food producers, major UK suppliers, particularly vulnerable. 
 
Why some leaders do not want Britain to &#39;leave&#39; 
 
Businessman George Soros had earlier this week observed that Britain&rsquo;s exit could lead to the depriciation of the Pound.&nbsp; 
 
Many world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnball, are not in favour of UK&rsquo;s exit from the EU.&nbsp; 
 
&quot;It would be a very big shock, there is no doubt about that, if Britain votes to leave the European Union. There will be obviously great efforts to ensure that the consequences of that shock are minimised,&rdquo; he said ahead of polls. &quot;Clearly, Britain is not voting to leave NATO, for example, so the strategic implications are not as severe as they could be, if that were the case. But it will be a big shock and it is a reminder as Margaret Thatcher once said &#39;to expect the unexpected&#39;. There are a lot of headwinds in the global economy, there are a lot of challenges, there are a lot of things that are beyond our control that effect global markets, that effect us.&quot; 
 
(WION and Agencies)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Apart from Asian markets wobbling and oil prices rising, reactions are pouring in from all quarters of the world

Close on the heels of the murder of British MP Jo Cox, United Kingdom is polling on Thursday to decide if the country will ‘leave’ or ‘remain’ in the European Union (EU). Apart from Asian markets wobbling and oil prices rising, reactions are pouring in from all quarters of the world, both favouring and defying the idea of the British exit from EU. United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage, who favours Brexit, reportedly pulled out of a television debate right ahead of the EU referendum. While polling started this morning, he had already been actively urging the social media users on Twitter to ‘vote’ and ‘get our country back’. Brexit would raise eyebrows in Ireland Expressing concern, however, Ireland foreign minister Charlie Flanagan Wednesday said that Ireland would have to consider taking steps to assist firms exporting into Britain, if its nearest neighbour and largest trade partner votes to leave the European Union. According to observers, Irish exporters would be the first to suffer if Brexit significantly weakened the Pound against the Euro and Flanagan said concerns were raised in meetings with trade bodies during the campaign. "It's too early for me to speculate as to the nature of any actions that we may take, but we are fully sensitive to the challenge that lies ahead and the need to respond accordingly," Flanagan said and added, “In the event of there being a vote to leave, we would be primarily focused on strategic national Irish interests across a range of issues, primarily economic and trade, so we have prepared a plan across a range of departments." About Euro 1.2 billion ($1.35 billion) worth of goods and services are traded between United Kingdom and Ireland each week with Irish farmers and food producers, major UK suppliers, particularly vulnerable. Why some leaders do not want Britain to 'leave' Businessman George Soros had earlier this week observed that Britain’s exit could lead to the depriciation of the Pound. Many world leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnball, are not in favour of UK’s exit from the EU. "It would be a very big shock, there is no doubt about that, if Britain votes to leave the European Union. There will be obviously great efforts to ensure that the consequences of that shock are minimised,” he said ahead of polls. "Clearly, Britain is not voting to leave NATO, for example, so the strategic implications are not as severe as they could be, if that were the case. But it will be a big shock and it is a reminder as Margaret Thatcher once said 'to expect the unexpected'. There are a lot of headwinds in the global economy, there are a lot of challenges, there are a lot of things that are beyond our control that effect global markets, that effect us." (WION and Agencies)

'Leave' or 'Remain'? World reacts over possibility of Brexit

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united kingdom