British Government to allocate £2 billion for no-deal Brexit contingencies

Planning for a no-deal Brexit is expected to be ramped up this week with up to £2bn to be allocated to government departments after the cabinet signs off on the contingency plans at its weekly meeting on Tuesday. Theresa May wants the increasingly serious no-deal preparations to dominate the Brexit discussion at cabinet, even though ministers worried about the stalled negotiations with Brussels are openly canvassing alternatives. The prime minister’s official spokesman said there would be an announcement “shortly” about spending the Treasury’s £2bn contingency fund, and insiders indicated that would happen later this week after Tuesday’s meeting. – The Guardian

Greg Clark has refused to rule out calling a second referendum as he backed giving MPs a series of indicative votes on Brexit in the event that Theresa May’s deal is rejected by Parliament. The Business Secretary has become the latest Cabinet Minister to endorse calls for Parliament to express its preference of what should happen if the draft withdrawal agreement is rejected. Mr Clark said Parliament should be “invited to say what it would agree with”, adding that he was tempted to give MPs a range of options to vote on. – The Telegraph

Downing Street has ruled out holding another referendum on the final terms of Brexit, ahead of a speech by Theresa May. The prime minister’s spokesman said there categorically would not be one, but refused four times to completely rule out holding a series of non-binding votes on alternative Brexit scenarios to break the deadlock in parliament. They said there were “no plans” to adopt the idea pushed by senior cabinet ministers Amber Rudd and Greg Clark. – Sky News

Business leaders have said the government’s plans to slash immigration from the EU by 80% after Brexit will devastate the hospitality sector.

UK Hospitality said it was alarmed by reports that the home secretary, Sajid Javid, is to unveil fresh restrictions once free movement ends along with a requirement that new immigrants will only be allowed in if they have a job with a salary of £30,000 or more. – The Guardian