The government has been dealt a massive blow after the Supreme Court ruled that Theresa May cannot trigger Article 50 without gaining the support of parliament beforehand.
The landmark ruling means the Prime Minister cannot begin talks with the EU until MPs and peers give their backing – although this is expected to happen in time for the government’s 31 March deadline.
Sources suggest govt might try to push Article 50 thro Commons within a fortnight, expectation at moment is for Bill tomorrow
— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) January 24, 2017
“By a majority of eight to three, the Supreme Court today rules that the government cannot trigger Article 50 without an act of Parliament authorising it to do so,” said Supreme Court President Lord Neuberger.
The government had hoped that it could use its Royal Prerogative powers to begin talks without the need to consult parliament.
Campaigners – led by investment manager Gina Miller – argued this was undemocratic and wanted MPs and peers to have the final sign-off.
Regardless, Article 50 will almost certainly still be passed given that the Tories have a working majority of 15 in the Commons and only one of those, Ken Clarke, is expected to vote against it.
More than £7bn wiped off the value of BT
BT Group (LON:BT.A) shares were hammered on Tuesday after the telecoms giant was forced to write down that value of its Italian unit by more than £500mln after years of “inappropriate behaviour”.
Shares were down around 18% for most of the morning session, wiping more than £7mln off of the value of the company.
The boss of BT’s continental operaitons, Corrado Sciolla, has walked the plank after it was revealed the true cost of the write down would be far more than the £145mln initially predicted.
I’m not quite sure this is the ‘Great January Sale’ BT had in mind earlier this month though…
Happy New Year! RT to #win a Sony Xperia™ XA from BT Mobile. All to celebrate our #BTJanSale deals. T&Cs: https://t.co/fkJuT3hfZJ pic.twitter.com/mF8gCE7AIw
— BT (@bt_uk) January 1, 2017
It could get worse for BT as well, with the BBC reporting that the Financial Reporting Council are considering opening an investigation into the saga.
Financial Reporting Council tells @bbc5live that it is looking into whether to investigate the auditors and accountants of #BT.
— Sean Farrington (@seanfarrington) January 24, 2017
Government borrowing
The government borrowed £10bn less in 2016 than it did a year earlier according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.
Government borrowing in December fell £0.4bn year-on-year to £6.9bn, while the ONS revised down its November figure to £11.3bn from £12.6bn.
Analysts reckon it is on track to hit the £68bn target for the full financial year to April the Chancellor set out in the Autumn Statement.
"This leaves the government well placed to undershoot the OBR’s full-year forecast of £68.2bn by a comfortable margin,” said Martin Beck, a senior economic advisor to the EY ITEM Club.
“If the final three months of the fiscal year see the same improvement as the first nine, borrowing would come in just above £61bn.”