Brexit White Paper alarms UK business leaders

London

LEADERS of the UK's financial sector are alarmed that the government's negotiating proposals will place the City of London at a major disadvantage. The fear is that the loss of independence will boost New York, Singapore and other financial centres. Moreover, the proposals - likely to be accepted by European Union negotiators - would encourage the relocation of banks and other institutions to Paris, Frankfurt and Dublin.

The strategy was unveiled in a White Paper negotiation proposal that was published last week. But the discussion of total trade, including only a few pages to financial services, has been widely criticised by Brexiteers and Remainers. Several parts are written in obscure "gobbledygook" language and some statistics, available elsewhere, are well out of date.