Brexit LIVE: EU ‘crushed’ as City bankers win ‘eye-watering’ £14bn coup – new report

Fintech CEO: UK is a ‘global HUB, not a gateway to EU’

Tom Bohills, co-vice chairman of the CityUnited Project, was speaking at the end of a week in which a report published by the European Banking Association revealed just 95 bankers earning in excess of €1million a year quit the City for Europe prior to Brexit. He furthermore pointed to KPMG's Pulse of Fintech report, which underlined the scale of investment in London-based financial technology businesses in the first half of 2021.

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This indicates of the top ten fintech deals in the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) regions, four totalling more than £14billion and involving Refinitiv (£10.86billion), Paysafe Group (£1billion), Nutmeg (£726.27billion) and LendInvest (£500million) were centred on the Capital.

Furthermore, another, involving GoCo Group, worth £600million, was centred on Newport in south Wales.

Mr Bohills told Express.co.uk : "European governments spent five years and tens of millions of pounds building international schools and hosting glitzy embassy receptions to try and lure bankers from the UK.

"Despite all the tax breaks, charm offensives and incentives, the fact that only 95 significant banking jobs have moved is a crushing indictment of the attractiveness of the EU as a global financial centre.

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Boris Johnson’s UK is a major player in the fintech sector (Image: GETTY)

"As new office spaces in financial districts across the EU lie untouched, the UK is experiencing its busiest season of listings on record and eye-watering levels of investment into its fintech sector."

CityUnited Project vice-chairman Leigh Evans said of the EBA report: "This official report from the EU's regulator, the European Banking Authority, is yet another shot in the arm for a City of London which has responded with its customary inventiveness and resilience to the challenges since the vote to leave the European Union.

"It's clear that the City's deserved reputation as Europe's financial hub is holding up superbly.

"With its significant contribution to UK GDP, and all the tax being collected on these salaries, Rishi Sunak will doubtless greet this report with the smile it merits."

[THIS IS A LIVE BLOG – SCROLL DOWN FOR REGULAR UPDATES]

3.25pm update: Brexit fishing row: Brussels vowed to step in and defend France – ‘EU will be firm

Brexit fishing disputes between the UK and France threatened to escalate after the EU warned it could step in.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has faced backlash from fishermen in the UK over his Brexit trade deal. While visiting Scotland earlier this month, he was told that his Brexit deal had "fallen short of expectations".

Fisheries leaders warned of a "hemorrhage" of foreign workers in the industry in the wake of the UK's departure from the EU's single market and customs union on January 1.

The EU and UK came to an agreement in January, resulting in changes to the fishing quotas enjoyed by European vessels in British waters.

The deal ensures that 25 percent of EU boats’ fishing rights in UK waters will be transferred to the British fleet over a period of five years.

After that, annual negotiations will decide how the catch is shared out between the UK and EU, and Britain would have the right to completely exclude EU boats after 2026.

UK Prime MInister Boris Johnson (Image: Getty)

3.22pm update: Oliver Pritchard-Jones taking over from Ciaran McGrath

12.50pm update: “Don’t blame Brexit,” says economist

Brexit is not to blame for a shortage of lorry drivers in the UK – and any problems with shortages in supermarket shelves are “easily fixed”, an economist has said.

Julian Jessop, a former economics fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), tweeted: “I know Twitter doesn’t really do nuance, but here goes…

“Are empty shelves and food shortages now widespread in the UK? Still NO.

“Is #Brexit the main reason for lack of drivers? NO.

“Is Brexit the main reason for shortages of #poultry workers? YES – but relatively easy to fix.”

10.38am update: Protocol can turn Northern Ireland into a “powerhouse”, claims expert

Northern Ireland can benefit from its unique status, having access to both the UK and EU markets, an expert has suggested.

Speaking to the Irish Times, Stephen Kelly, chief executive of Manufacturing NI, said there had been "nearly €800 million worth of additional sales of Northern Irish goods into [the Republic of] Ireland in the first six months of this year".

He added that the data "proves that market access is as critical for trade as anything else and it also shows that the protocol does provide opportunities for Northern Irish producers".

9.17am update: ‘EU works for Germany and not France!’ Frexiteer fury over Brussels’ latest vaccine shame

The European Union has come under furious attack from a leading Frexiteer after Brussels failed to secure any pre-orders of a French vaccine but are now pressing ahead with a far-from efficient German jab.

The European Union and French President Emmanuel Macron failed to secure any early purchases of the French-produced Valneva vaccine, but the jabs are instead being made available to Brexit Britain first in what is a major embarrassment for the EU.

The UK Government has reportedly secured an order for 190 million doses, with the first 60 million of the 100 million doses set to continue into the first quarter of next year, with the remainder due in 2022.

British officials also have the option to buy an additional 90 million doses that would be delivered between 2023 and 2025, sending the total value of the order surging to £1.2billion. The manufacturing process will take place in Livingston, Scotland.

8.05am update: Wrong all along! Remainer Adonis and ‘hardline EU fanatics’ shamed over Project Fear

Brexit naysayers such as Lord Andrew Adonis have been consistently wrong about the impact of quitting the bloc, left-of-centre Leaver Paul Embery has said, declaring: “None of their predictions have come true.”

Labour MP David Lammy was slammed for bringing up Brexit and questioning an LBC caller about his vote in the EU referendum during a discussion on Afghanistan.

Labour MP and LBC host David Lammy was rebuked for quizzing a caller about his stance on Brexit during a discussion on Afghanistan.

Mr Lammy turned a row about Afghanistan into one about Brexit as he repeatedly asked a caller, named Vincent, what he voted for in the 2016 referendum.

Vincent had called into the LBC show to complain that Dominic Raab and Boris Johnson were being disproportionately blamed for the chaos in Afghanistan.

Afghanistan: David Lammy quizzes LBC caller on Brexit stance

7.40pm update: Brexit trade war looming as crunch talks with EU risk boiling over – UK rejects hated rules

Brexit negotiators are gearing up for a round of crunch talks to avert a full-blown trade war in the dispute over EU rules for Northern Ireland.

The threat of a "sausage war" will loom over the discussions as officials work to thrash out a solution to end trade disruptions in the region.

Wrangling will likely focus on an EU ban on British chilled meats, such as sausages and burgers, being sold in Northern Ireland.

A grace period from the EU's red tape is set to expire at the end of next month, meaning the sale of British bangers must be stopped in the area's supermarkets unless an agreement is found.

7.03am update: EU and Dublin looking to ‘colonise’ Northern Ireland within Brexit trade deal

Irish nationalists have been called out for a desire to “colonise Northern Ireland” through the Brexit protocol.

Loyalist activist Jamie Bryson has called out “Irish nationalists” for seeking to bring Northern Ireland into the economic orbit of Dublin and the EU after Brexit.

He argued that the objective of Irish nationalists is to bring about an economically united Ireland through the implementation of the Brexit protocol.

Mr Bryson believes that the construction of new customs rules between Northern Ireland and Great Britain was to serve the “real objective” of pushing unionists towards Irish unification.

Professor Daniel Hodson, chairman of the CityUnited Project (Image: Bruges Group)

6.50am update: UK must beat EU to launch digital currency, stresses CIty expert

Commenting on the news that just 95 super-wealthy bankers quit the City for Europe prior to Brexit, Professor Daniel Hodson chairman of the CityUnited Project, told Express.co.uk: "The good news is that the value added will always be where the decision makers are, and that is still clearly in London, with its deep and diverse markets, its global attraction as a place to live, English language and Common Law based legal system.

However, he added: "The bad news is that this massive advantage is likely to be eroded quickly should the EU introduce an early Euro Central Bank Digital Currency before Britain.

"That coup would quickly hollow out and acquire a huge chunk of the City's clearing and settlement business, undermining its clear current advantage, and repositioning a host of those key decision makers in continental financial centres, not least Paris – which has always had its own attractions."

6.45am update: £14bn fintech investment underlines City’s strength

"Eye-watering" levels of investment in the City of London totalling at least £14billion this year alone have pulled the rug from under Brexit naysayers claiming the Square Mile would falter outside the EU, a financial analyst has said.

Tom Bohills, co-vice chairman of the CityUnited Project, was speaking at the end of a week in which a report published by the European Banking Association revealed just 95 bankers earning in excess of €1million a year quit the City for Europe prior to Brexit.

He furthermore pointed to KPMG's Pulse of Fintech report, which underlined the scale of investment in London-based financial technology businesses in the first half of 2021.

This indicates of the top ten fintech deals in the European, Middle Eastern and African (EMEA) regions, four totalling more than £14billion and involving Refinitiv (£10.86billion), Paysafe Group (£1billion), Nutmeg (£726.27billion) and LendInvest (£500million) were centred on the Capital.