Daily Archives: March 29, 2022

On Saturday, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced typhoon jets and Royal Air Force (RAF) personnel are being deployed to Romania for a fourth year to join the long-standing NATO air policing mission for the Black Sea region.

The RAF deployment forms part of NATO's increased presence in Europe in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the MoD said.

It involves four Typhoon jets from 3 (Fighter) Squadron, normally based at RAF Coningsby, and 150 RAF personnel.

Armed forces minister James Heappey said: "The UK remains committed to NATO and European security in the face of Russian aggression and the unprovoked invasion of Ukraine."

Air Vice-Marshal Philip Robinson, Air Officer Commanding 11 Group said:

The arrival of our personnel and equipment in the region highlights the RAFs continued commitment and contribution to the NATO Air Policing mission in Romania.

During the deployment, we will be working alongside our Romanian and other NATO partners, enabling the delivery of the mission and protecting and reassuring our allies, whilst building confidence and maintaining deterrence.

Air policing is a purely defensive operation, the MoD said, and "ensures the security and integrity of all NATO alliance member's airspaces".

Commenting on the news in an article titled "Will the EU ever say thank you to the United Kingdom for defending its territory?", Facts4EU campaigners blasted the bloc's inefficient defence.

They wrote: "We have previously reported many times on the appallingly low levels of defence spending amongst EU countries.

READ MORE:Kremlin's move to ban Zelensky interview with Russian TV backfires

"Sadly it has not been able to supply its own armed forces sufficiently, due to insufficient federal budgets for decades."

Pointing to EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen as the main culprit for the bloc's failing defence system, they added: "Germanys Defence Minister from 2013 to 2019 was one Ursula von der Leyen.

"She was regularly described in the German media as Germanys least effective minister.

"She was then parachuted into Brussels by Angela Merkel in 2019 and appointed as EU Commission President."

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'Say thank you!' EU savaged as UK defends bloc's borders by sending RAF jets to Romania - Express

The former Brexit Secretary argued that if the European Union does not renegotiate the Northern Ireland protocol then Article 16 should be triggered. He explained that it would be "better" for Northern Ireland.

Speaking to LBC, he said: "It's perfectly sensible, it's a mechanism they should be willing to use.

"They should go the whole distance to try and get the EU to change and if they can't, Article 16 is the way out. It was designed that way and that's what they have to do.

"It's not a great outcome in negotiating terms but it's better than leaving Northern Ireland in the situation it's in now."

Mr Davis added: "We have to do the right thing by Northern Ireland that's the first thing. Not the right thing by one or other political alliance."

THIS POLL IS NOW CLOSED, CLICK HERE FOR THE RESULTS

Talks between the UK and EU on reducing the impact of the Northern Ireland protocol on trade are ongoing, but no major breakthroughs are expected ahead of the upcoming Northern Ireland Assembly elections in May.

Under the current deal, border checks remain between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, as Northern Ireland remains in the EU single market under the terms of a section within the Brexit Withdrawal Agreement called the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Under the Northern Ireland Protocol, the UK or EU are able to take unilateral safeguarding measures if either side concludes that aspects of the deal are causing serious practical problems or harming trade this clause is set out as Article 16.

Triggering Article 16 would amount to suspending part of the Brexit deal, which would lead to serious diplomatic tensions between the EU and UK.

So what do YOU think? Is David Davis right that now is the time to trigger Article 16? Or is it better to avoid tensions with war already raging on the Continent? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.

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Brexit POLL: Do YOU agree with David Davis that Boris Johnson should trigger Article 16? - Express

When Rishi Sunak appeared before MPs today, it was inevitable that the cost of living would dominate. He was at turns both combative and defensive, as he tried to account for just why his mini-Budget had had such a negative reaction from the public.

The Chancellor fended off ridicule for filling up someone elses car for a petrol pump PR stunt, and doubled down on his key decision not to do more on energy bills in his Spring Statement. When asked about fresh gas and electricity rises in the autumn, his answer lets wait until we get there- sounded as much a rebuff to Boris Johnson as to his Labour critics.

But it was when Sunak was asked about Brexit that he looked most uncomfortable. When quizzed by two Tory MPs on just why the UKs trade had plunged by 15 per cent since 2019, much lower than other advanced economies, he suddenly was lost for words.

Whereas he had every statistic at his fingertips when grilled over his focus on pre-election tax cuts, the friendly fire from his own side on trade seemed to discombobulate him. The cost of living he could handle, the cost of Brexit he couldnt.

Asked if he had expected such a big drop in trade when he had argued in 2016 as an unknown MP for Vote Leave, he replied: Forgive me I dont have the numbers in my hand or in my head.

At first, he claimed that the Covid pandemic made things just too complicated to disentangle. The big drawback with that was the independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had last week done just that.

Its 245-page assessment concluded that UK trade as a share of GDP had fallen 12 per cent since 2019, two and a half times more than in any other G7 country. In his own evidence to PMs earlier, OBR chief Richard Hughes referred to the consequences of Brexit in being a less open economy.

It gets worse. The OBR forecasts productivity the very thing that drives the economic growth that we all rely on will be 4 per cent lower over the next 15 years. Growth itself will be hit by 4 per cent, double the damage caused by coronavirus pandemic.

Eventually, Sunak did admit the damage: Without a doubt we are changing our trading relationship with the EU and that means a different set of controls. And that will obviously have an impact and that Im sure is a big part of the reason why this [drop in trade] is happening.

Its no wonder the Chancellor looked so uneasy. Whereas Covid, global oil prices and the war in Ukraine are all global events out of our control (and factors he relied on to defend his tax rises), the trade figures suggest that Brexit is a self-inflicted wound.

No major party or politician is offering to turn back the clock, but what is the Governments answer when all these facts are put to it? And, given the Chancellor opted to back Leave, shouldnt he be singing its economic benefits from the rooftops?

Well, Sunak mentioned Brexit just once in his Budget speech last week, and that was in the context of a small VAT cut on solar panels. In his Budget and Spending Review last October, the B-word wasnt uttered at all. In his Budget in March 2021, he did at least have something, as he unveiled eight new freeports and suggested new trade deals would be a boost.

But on those freeports, the OBR says bluntly: We have assumed that the main effect of the freeports will be to alter the location rather than the volume of economic activity.

And on much-trumpeted new trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, the OBR watchdog is damningly downbeat: None of the new free-trade agreements (FTAs) or other regulatory changes announced so far would be sufficient to have a material impact on our forecast.

Sunak again sounded uncomfortable when he was asked by MPs if the UK was becoming a closed economy rather than an open one. The benefit of new trading relationships takes time, they dont happen all overnight, he said.

Although the UK has seen a big drop in imports from the EU (with all the implications that carries for free trade and growth), Brexiteers take some heart from some changes.

A fortnightly ONS survey published last week showed that more than half of UK businesses that had changed their supply chain had switched to more domestic, British sourcing since the end of the Brexit transition period in January 2021.

Could Sunak deliver another Brexit bonus, by replacing the cash the EU sent to our poorer areas with something more generous Unfortunately, the new UK Shared Prosperity Fund is actually worth less than the 1.3bn a year that was spent when we were members of the EU.

What about the biggest Brexit boast of all, that the 350 million a week not sent to Brussels would be spent on the NHS? Jacob Rees-Mogg and others claim that somehow Theresa Mays 2018 NHS settlement delivered on that promise, but the UK hadnt even formally left the EU then.

In fact, Sunak and the Cabinet repeatedly stress that the reason they are whacking up taxes next month (via the health and social care levy to increase National Insurance) is to fund the NHS. That suggests the Brexit dividend is not after all funding our health service (in fact the NHSs funding sources are totally unclear once the levy is meant to shift to social care).

Many Brexiteers will rightly point out that theres no point re-interring all the debates from 2016. Yet the Chancellor so far has little concrete to show how he will use Brexit to boost the economy. Sunak produced a Tax Plan to cut taxes last week, which was skinny enough. There is no Brexit Plan at all from the Treasury.

A Benefits of Brexit paper produced by the Cabinet Office in January had a grand total of two pages on financial services and one page on international trade. Rees-Mogg is reduced to crowd-sourcing from readers of The Sun his ideas for Brexit opportunities.

Sunak often tries to persuade the public that hes a straightforward kind of guy. We are honest with people, I think people respect that honesty, he said recently. Yet so far, neither he nor Boris Johnson are being honest about the economic costs of Brexit. Even more strangely, theyre not doing much to plan for any upsides.

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Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak should level with the public that Brexit has scarred our economy - iNews

This will be a week Rishi Sunak would rather forget. His efforts to present himself as a sober alternative to a party-prone prime minister were dealt a bodyblow by a spring statement that was panned across the political spectrum as an inadequate response to voters concerns on spiralling bills and the largest decline in living standards since rationing was abolished in the 1950s.

Sunaks failure brings broader risks. Growing public disquiet over the cost of living crisis has begun to tarnish a cherished core element of the Tory political brand: economic competence. For most of the past decade, voters have shown a strong preference for the Tores as stewards of the economy. That advantage is fading fast. One recent poll showed voters giving Labours economic team of Starmer and Reeves a lead over their Conservative rivals, something not seen since before the financial crisis. Polling on the cost of living is even worse for the Conservatives Labour have solid and growing leads on this issue, which looks set to remain the focus of attention for many months.

Days before the chancellor took to the despatch box, his colleagues began, at the partys spring conference, to set out their plans for the coming general election. The world may have changed but the political battle lines drawn up in Blackpool had not: traditional values v metropolitan liberal elites, Conservative pragmatism v Labour extremism, common sense v cancel culture. Underpinning it was the most familiar faultline Leave v Remain.

The political logic of trying to shift the focus away from the economy and back towards the identity and value conflicts which divide Leave and Remain voters is obvious. The Conservatives Get Brexit Done win in 2019 was driven by overwhelming support from Brexiters, 75% of whom backed the party. The red wall seats where once impregnable Labour majorities were overcome are socially conservative, strongly Leave-voting places. The current Conservative electoral coalition is divided over economics, but united on identity politics.

The audience for Brexit rallying cries is still impressive more than six in 10 voters continue to identify with Leave or Remain, far more than call themselves Tory or Labour. These still widely-felt Brexit tribal attachments are potent political resources for any who can activate them. However, they are beginning to fade, and Leave identities are declining faster than Remain attachments. The tribal pull of Brexit helped Johnson bring in support from voters otherwise suspicious of the Conservative party. That pull may now be weakening. Recent events have also shaken the Conservatives hold over Leavers. The partygate scandal triggered a slump in support for Johnson among his core Brexiter electorate.

The prime ministers net approve-disapprove ratings among Leavers in Opinium polls for the Observer crashed from a peak of +43 as vaccines were rolled out last spring to a trough of -15 in December. Johnsons winter fall among Leavers was much steeper than among Remainers, taking him into negative territory with Brexit supporters for the first time as prime minister.

A similar, but more modest, Brexiter shift is also evident in vote preferences: the Conservatives have declined more than 10 points with Leavers since last summer. Having held steady at about 70% for most of the parliament, Tory support from Brexit backers has now fallen below 60%.

The Conservatives would dearly love to restore the Brexit coalition by refighting the party battles of the last two parliaments, when they painted the Labour party of Jeremy Corbyn as an extreme, unpatriotic threat to national security.

Under Keir Starmer, Labour have been determined to deny them this opportunity. The Labour leaders embrace of socially conservative positions on culture, identity and patriotism has been the subject of some derision on the left of his party, but it has an obvious political logic of its own. Starmer has had to earn a hearing for Labour with Leave voters, whose hostility to Corbyn was total.

There are signs in the polling that these efforts to reconnect with Leave voters are beginning to bear fruit. Though Starmer remains unpopular with Brexiters, his current approvals are the best seen since last years vaccine rollout began, and Labours current 20% plus polling among Leavers is the best since the 2019 election.

While Brexiter enthusiasm for Labour is muted, Starmers current position is nonetheless a massive improvement on his predecessor. Labour know that even a modest recovery with Leave voters is enough to tip the balance in many seats. The appeal of a campaign selling the benefits delivered by Brexit, and attacking its critics, is thus obvious: the Conservatives will hope to restore their fortunes by stoking the fading fires of Brexit partisanship and rallying wavering Leavers back to their banner.

This strategy requires an electorate willing to dance once again to the beat of a Brexit drum. That is by no means certain. Attention to Brexit is now lower than at any time since before the referendum vote, and attention to immigration at its lowest for over two decades. With economic chaos at home, conflict abroad and record levels of anxiety about climate change, the issue agenda today is radically different to the terrain on which the previous elections were fought and won.

The Tories may want to shift the conversation back to more favourable terrain. The risk is that they cannot do so, and are left with nothing to say.

Robert Ford is professor of political science at Manchester University

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Tories fall back on tribal pull of Brexit - The Guardian

Julia Hartley-Brewer has clashed with Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran over the benefits of Brexit to Britain's Covid vaccine rollout during the pandemic. Ms Hartley-Brewer shut down the Lib Dem for arguing that talk of Britain enjoying Brexit freedoms when it came to the vaccine was a "red herring."

Ms Moran told Politics Live that talk of Britain having "our own vaccine policy" as a result of Brexit "is a complete red herring."

In response, Ms Hartley-Brewer remarked: "Who could have done it but we wouldn't have done it.

"In the same way, France and Germany could have done it..."

"Well I'm glad you admit we could have done it," replied Ms Moran.

Ms Hartley-Brewer added: "So could France and Germany but they didn't and thousands of people died unnecessarily."

It comes after Chancellor Rishi Sunak was forced to acknowledge that Britain's withdrawal from the European Union has affected the level of overseas trade,

Giving evidence to the Commons Treasury Committee on last week's Spring Statement, Mr Sunak said it was "inevitable" that UK trade with the EU would fall as a result ofBrexit.

At the same time, he said that it was too early for the benefits of trade deals the UK had struck with other countries to kick in.

Mr Sunak was challenged by the committee chairman, Tory MP Mel Stride, about new figures from the Office for Budget Responsibility, showing that while other countries' "trade intensity" had come back "quite strongly" sinceBrexitand the pandemic, the UK's had not.

"Doesn't that tell you that the main distinction between ourselves and them is that we went throughBrexitand they didn't?" Mr Stride said.

Mr Sunak said it was too soon to disentangle the effects of the pandemic and ofBrexit, but acknowledged that leaving the EU had had an impact.

"We are still trying to work through what all the impacts are," he said. It was always inevitable that there would be a change in our trade intensity with Europe as a result of the change in the trade relationship.

"Without doubt, we are changing our trading relationship with the EU and that means a different set of controls and things people will have to do and that will obviously have an impact.

"That is, I am sure, a big part of the reason why this is happening. I think it is maybe a bit early to be definitive about which bits are doing what."

Mr Sunak, however, rejected the suggestion that the UK was becoming "a more closed economy", insisting the Government wanted it to be much more open to the world on trade.

"The benefit of new trading relationships takes time. They don't happen all overnight. Of course, that will happen over a period of time," he said.

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'We wouldn't have done it!' Hartley-Brewer shuts down Moran's attack on UK Brexit freedom - Express

Brexit: We must do right by Northern Ireland says Davis

Doug Beattie, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), saw his office in Portadown, County Armagh, attacked on Sunday. It came just hours after he refused to take part in any further protests against the Northern Ireland Protocol, which he said were raising tensions in the country.

The window of the party leaders office was smashed by a concrete block according to police.

Officers said the incident happened sometime between 8:30pm on Sunday and 8:30am on Monday.

PSNI Sergeant Berry said: It was reported that sometime between 8.30pm yesterday (Sunday 27th March) and 8.30am today, Monday, a concrete block was thrown at the main window of a property at Bridge Street in the town.

Enquiries are at an early stage, and I appealing to anyone who may have witnessed any suspicious activity, or have any information which could assist, to contact police on 101, and quote reference number 675 of 28/03/22.

"Information can also be provided to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online atwww.crimestoppers-uk.org."

Speaking after the incident, Mr Beattie said he will not be intimidated following the cowardly attack.

He said: The attack on my office overnight is one of the inevitable consequences I have been warning about.

My primary concern is for the welfare of my staff and this was a cowardly attack on their workplace which provides a service to the people of Upper Bann.

What it will not do is deter me from carrying out my democratic work or speaking out when I have genuine concerns about the direction in which people are being led.

Attacking offices and attempting to intimidate politicians demonstrates the weakness of your argument if that is what you have to resort to.

READ MORE:Brexit LIVE: Furious row over eating INSECTS

The UUP leader then reiterated his partys commitment to replacing the Northern Ireland Protocol, but added: Blood and thunder rhetoric from a lectern will not help nor solve the Protocol problem.

This is exactly what we need to avoid. We need to learn the lessons of the past.

If anyone thinks that they can intimidate me or the Ulster Unionist Party, they clearly don't know me or understand the party I represent.

On Sunday, Mr Beattie said: It is now clear that anti-protocol rallies are being used to raise the temperature in Northern Ireland and adding to tensions that now see a resurgence in (Ulster Volunteer Force, a paramilitary group) activity.

The Ulster Unionist Party will not be part of raising tensions or the temperature by bringing people onto the streets with an intent to harness anger.

As a party we will continue to engage in all community-led meetings where we will answer our critics. As the party leader I will make myself available, where possible, to explain my rationale for dealing with the protocol.

DON'T MISS

The attack has been condemned by DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, who said those behind the incident were completely wrong and that their actions contribute nothing to their opposition to the protocol.

Sir Jeffrey was among those who addressed a rally against the protocol on Friday, alongside TUV leader Jim Allister, Baroness Hoey, Ben Habib and Jamie Bryson in Ballymoney, Co Antrim.

Mr Bryson said: "This is to be condemned. The way to show opposition to the UUP is simply be rejecting them at the polls.

"We need to engage with Doug Beattie in public debate and outline the view of why the UUP are so wrong and damaging the Union. Attacking his premises doesnt advance the issue."

Mr Bryson said during the Ballymoney protest on Friday that its time to politically fire (the temperature) up.

He said on Twitter on Monday: For the avoidance of any doubt: I stand over every word of my speech in Ballymoney.

It did, of course, contain the very clear position that protests should be wholly peaceful. It also said its time to politically raise the temperature. And so it is.

It is unknown who is behind the attack on Mr Beatties office.

It comes after police say they believe the UVF was responsible for the planting of a hoax device in a van in north Belfast on Friday.

That incident led to a bomb alert at a peace-building event and Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney was forced to leave due to security concerns.

A 41-year-old man and 38-year-old woman were arrested on Sunday following the incident, which is being linked to the UVF.

Detectives questioned the man under the Terrorism Act while the woman was detained on suspicion of possessing a firearm in suspicious circumstances, possessing criminal property and concealing criminal property.

Two vehicles, a quantity of controlled drugs and a large sum of cash were also recovered.

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Brexit fury erupts in night of violence over hated deal - party leader targeted in attack - Express

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine, the EU has been looking for alternatives to Russian fossil fuels. For almost a year, the bloc has been reeling from an energy crisis that has only been exacerbated as Putin, who supplies the EU with 40 percent of its gas, squeezed supplies to exert pressure on the bloc.

As the bloc looks for alternatives, many are tipping renewables like wind and nuclear power to ensure energy security.

An expert has noted that the UK is in a prime position to replace Russia as a major energy exporter to the EU by developing its wind capabilities.

Speaking to Express.co.uk, Zoisa North-Bond, CEO of Octopus Energy Generation, said that while in the short term, the UK Government needed to figure out a way to reduce energy bills, it also needs to plan for the long term.

She said: Actually, into the future, we shouldn't be afraid of building as quickly as we possibly can.

We can absolutely be a major exporter of energy over the next decade or two.

It's been given attention five or six years ago, about a lot of interconnectors we have with Europe, and it would be great to see a focus on that again.

I don't think anyone should be afraid of building lots of renewables, particularly if we can get interconnectors with Europe in place and export them that way.

Experts from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) have predicted that the UK could already reap the benefits of its investment in renewables, with paybacks of some 660million forecast during the current gas troubles and up to 26billion possible in a future crisis.

READ MORE:Energy crisis: New green scheme promises to save up to 350-a-year

There is every chance that we can be a world leader in wind energy in the future. We're really well-positioned for that.

The researchers' analysis has indicated that as more turbines come online and increase in cost-effectiveness, wind could end up paying back up to 6.7billion in a year in the event of another gas crisis in the near future.

This, the researchers explained, is equivalent to an annual saving of 85 per UK household.

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Brexit Britain to replace Russia as 'energy exporter to EU' and become 'world leader' - Express

UK travellers hit by Brexit fees on EU cash withdrawals here's what you can do to avoid them

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UK travellers hit by Brexit fees on EU cash withdrawals heres how to avoid them - The Points Guy UK

ON Thursday June 23, 2016 there were 3,987,112 people, in Scotland, who were entitled to cast a ballot. Some 2,679,513, that is 67.2% of the electorate, actually put pen to paper and bothered to cast their vote.

So 62% of actual voters in Scotland, thought that the people of the dis-United Kingdom would be better off as members of the European Union. Which, surprisingly, it seems to some people, must mean that 1,661,191 Scottish voters caught-on that outside the European Union we Scots would endure a much lower standard of living, if the UK were to relinquish membership of the European Union.

It may be that many of them listened to Pascal Lamy, former head of the World Trade Organisation, who said, in the run up to the Brexit referendum, that the UK exiting Europe on WTO terms was not hell but it was far from todays heaven. He also likened the situation to that of a football team leaving the first division and finding itself at the bottom of the fourth division.

Last September The Herald newspaper reported that UK exports had decreased by 5.5% since 2016, making the UK the only economy in the region with a negative balance of trade.

We have heard endless stories of the difficulties exporters face with extra red tape and huge extra costs.

The UK Government might try to say that they do not have a plan to choke off the supply of labour to increase wages, and decrease the number of people living on benefits, but with their rhetoric over immigration and asylum seekers, the reluctance to fully engage and make it very easy for those fleeing Ukraine, suggests that that is the line they have been pursuing. Reduce supply and the price rises.

At the same time they have reduced the supply of goods entering the UK, and because of the increase in wages costs for businesses, prices are rising in the shops.

My question is why is this a surprise? It was not only Pascal Lamy who gave warnings.

The Johnson government has fallen upon a stream of luck which is really unbelievable, and the sad reality is that what has been lucky for them has been absolute and utter tragedy and horror for millions. The pandemic and the now the horror of Putins evil, war on Ukraine have given them a smokescreen to hide their Brexit failure.

Without a doubt these awful things have added to the problems but Brexit is the enormous economic issue.

It is my thought that Brexit was a factor in Putins thinking when he decided, for whatever disgusting reason, to send his weapons and troops into Ukraine. He had a notion that the EU was less strong, less united, with the rumblings from Poland and Hungry and the UKs exit.

So all the hype and nonsense of Rishi Sunak and his Spring Statementlead me back to the same question as I asked above: Why is all this a surprise?

I am sorry I cannot warm to this man at all, a billionaire, at the despatch boxes, doing a very weak impression of a master trader on the Barras, Gallowgate.

Not one, not even by two, but by five pence per litre. The sentences before that were full of bluster about how big and strong the UK economy is, and we should be happy for that because it allows us to fund our defence, and to send help to Ukraine.

Heavens we should help Ukraine. In 1994 we promised to, and if anyone in government had had the forethought they would have snuggled a wee nest egg away for that rainy day. Then again the UK has two trillion pounds of debt.

Planning for the future that is not the way of things in the UK. The UK is always Oh my we didnt expect that, now what do we do?

The fortune in that is; that the UK population is very good in a crisis, and the good women and men step up and give all they have to pull inept governments out of the mire they continually make.

My heart is heavy with the sadness of Ukraine, and I am incensed that are still tied to the rUK where a Chancellor can boast about the great, strong, wealth of the nation and yet do absolutely nothing to help ordinary, everyday, people who were hardly getting by before 6% inflation.

Then again it is no surprise, and there will be many here in Scotland who consider that strong economy of the UK as something to be voted for. As Sunak with his smoke and mirrors blinds them with his nonsense yet again. To all those people, I know they will never read this, please think, we are Scotland and we are big enough, strong enough, clever enough and rich enough to do so, so much better as an independent country.Cher BonfisVia email

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Never forget that Brexit is the reason Britain is in such a state - The National

Launched last year as the successor to the Horizon 2020 programme, Horizon Europe is a seven-year initiative to provide funding for scientific research and innovation. Back in late 2020, alongside signing the Trade and Cooperation Agreement, the UK and the EU reached an agreement in principle that the UK would associate with Horizon Europe after Brexit.

However, this arrangement has yet to be finalised, more than a year later, particularly due to disputes over Brexit.

The move will cost the UK 15billion over seven years and will allow UK researchers to access the huge 80billion pool of funding and collaborate with European partners

Responding to the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee, UK Science Minsiter George Freeman laid out a plan to fund UK researchers should the UK be permanently barred from Horizon Europe.

He said: Weve been very clear that we cant a situation where uncertainty of being blocked damages UK science and research today.

Thats why Ive launched the first guarantee for funding- a sort of in flight applications that have been through the first process we set up in December to guarantee funding.

Weve just extended that to the end of the year, to give those teams who would be working on Horizon applications, the knowledge that they wont be left hanging off a cliff- we will fund them.

However, he then stressed about the importance of a Plan B for what the UK must do if they arent able to join the project.

He stated that the UK Government a lot of time between October through December listening to the UK scientific community to understand what is valuable to them about Horizon Europe.

READ MORE:Brexit Britain to slash red tape to become 'leader' in space sector

He continued: A very clear message that the fellowships are hugely valued.

Secondly the familiarity across Europe of terms when you speak to researchers across universities who say oh its a Horizon project, we know how that works.

The Plan B is to take what is known and loved by the research community today and make sure thats there.

Mr Freeman laid out his plan into three distinct pillars.

He said: Firstly the talent, Ive suggested that if we have to do it our own we put more into those talent pillars than traditionally weve done and we make them slightly longer term and base them on some of our academy fellowships.

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Brexit Britain lays out plan to shake off EU shackles and invest 15bn in UK instead - Express