“A senior aide to David Cameron gave a telephone dressing-down to the business chief who dared to speak out in favour of Brexit. Daniel Korski, who is paid £93,000 a year, rang John Longworth just hours before the British Chambers of Commerce sensationally suspended him from his post as director general… Number 10 had repeatedly insisted no pressure was brought to bear, and the BCC claimed no politician had influenced its decision” – Daily Mail
“I have chosen to resign from my position at the British Chambers of Commerce so I can speak freely on the matter of our membership of the EU… I had always considered that the best place for Britain to be was inside a reformed EU, but considerable research and insight over the past years, coupled with the prime minister’s renegotiation with Europe which fell far short of expectations, has led me to believe that the EU is incapable of meaningful reform… We will have a much brighter future if we leave, but we must make this move now, before it too late” – John Longworth, The Times (£)
>Today:
“Leavers and Scottish nationalists deny any likeness, but the parallels between the two movements increasingly insist on being noticed. Both sides spent so much time and energy securing a referendum that none was left over to hone their arguments when it came. They bonded among themselves during those years in a way that cloaked material disagreements on basic questions of detail” – Janan Ganesh, Financial Times
>Yesterday:
“Boris Johnson’s office has warned senior officials at London’s City Hall not to speak out in favour of staying in the European Union. An email from his chief of staff, Edward Lister, seen by the BBC, tells deputy mayors and senior advisers to ‘either advocate the mayor’s position or otherwise not openly contradict it’. The Mayor of London has accused pro-EU campaigners of trying to gag opponents” – BBC
>Today:
“Turkey and Germany have negotiated a groundbreaking deal to systematically turn back all Syrians and economic migrants reaching Greek islands in exchange for sweeteners for Ankara, including early access to European visas and billions in extra funding. Other EU leaders were blindsided by the bold Turco-German text, unexpectedly presented shortly before their summit on Monday, but emerged after 12 hours of difficult discussions with the outline of a deal they hope to finalise next week” – Financial Times
“Eurozone finance ministers have moved to break a deadlock between Greece’s warring creditors by sending bailout negotiators back to Athens to agree a new set of economic reforms. Despite continued disagreement over how long the list of reforms must be, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the Dutch finance minister who chaired the eurogroup meeting of his 16 counterparts, insisted there was ‘enough common ground’ between the EU and the IMF to restart the negotiations” – Financial Times
“George Osborne is set to back a fast rail line between Manchester and Leeds in next week’s Budget as part of his ‘Northern Powerhouse’ plan to rebalance the economy away from London. David Brown, head of Transport for the North (TfN), which is drawing up a blueprint for a ‘transformation’ of northern roads and railways, said it was ‘a matter of time’ before the link got the go-ahead” – Financial Times
“David Cameron will fail to deliver on a pledge to close the gender pay gap within a generation, according to a senior Conservative MP who used to be the Cabinet minister for women and equalities. Maria Miller, chair of a parliamentary select committee that scrutinises gender equality, told the Guardian: ‘The government thinks the issue has been resolved, and it has for women working full-time under the age of 35 but not for thousands of others’” – Guardian
>Today:
“The head of GCHQ, the UK’s electronic eavesdropping agency, has moved to defuse the row between security services and technology companies with a call for ‘very practical co-operation’. Robert Hannigan’s speech at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology on Monday came ahead of a proposed new public-private forum in the UK, set to be announced by the prime minister this summer, designed to avoid stand-offs such as the US government’s legal fight with Apple” – Financial Times
“The French and British governments on Monday redoubled their support for a nuclear project in the UK, attempting to quash an internal rebellion at project-leader EDF just weeks before a final investment decision. The Paris-based utility was thrown into turmoil when chief financial officer Thomas Piquemal resigned, saying that he felt that plans for the £18bn Hinkley Point project in Somerset threatened the group’s entire future” – Financial Times
“Jeremy Corbyn begged Labour MPs to stop their ‘sniping’ and ‘name calling’ as aides refused to rule out that he feared plotters wanted to oust him. The Labour leader was also harangued over his call to decriminalise prostitution, as he faced a gloomy meeting of his parliamentary party. A source close to the leader said: ‘Jeremy faced down his critics and made clear that the sniping and name calling was counterproductive for the whole party’” – Daily Mail
>Today:
“Michael Bloomberg has decided against launching a run for the US presidency, citing fears that he would end up handing the White House to Donald Trump or Ted Cruz… ‘[Mr Trump] has run the most divisive, demagogic presidential campaign I can remember, preying on people’s prejudices and fears. Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party, appealed to our “better angels”. Trump appeals to our worst impulses,’ Mr Bloomberg wrote” – Financial Times