European Union Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says British Prime Minister Theresa May should endorse a permanent customs union with the bloc – as proposed by the opposition Labour party – to break the impasse over their looming divorce.
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The British economy plunged into reverse in December, with a broad-based slump in economic output completing the weakest year for growth since 2012.
The Office for National Statistics says gross domestic product contracted by 0.4% from the previous month, fuelled by a fall in spending on the high street over the key festive shopping period.