BBC Radio 4

Lord Myners, who was city minister in Gordon Brown's government and a former M&S chairman, said the PM's statement that the UK was leaving the single market was likely to mean more reports of jobs leaving London.

He told BBC Radio 4's World at One:

Sinn Féin threatens to pull out of the Joint Ministerial Council over concerns about negotiations for the UK to leave the EU.

BBC Radio 4

Following reports of HSBC and UBS planning to move some staff out of London, Barclays boss Jes Staley told the BBC he believed the UK would continue to be the "financial lungs" for Europe.

He told the BBC business editor Simon Jack: "We may have to move certain activities, we may have to change the legal structure that we use to operate in Europe but I think it's going to be at the margin and it's going to be manageable." 

Gavin Hewitt
BBC chief corrrespondent

Image source, Getty Images

Psychology is always part of tense negotiations. In her Lancaster House speech this week Theresa May sought to seize back the advantage before the real battles start at the end of March. She wanted Europe to know that Britain would not be coming to meetings on the defensive, cap in hand.

During the 40 minutes of her speech she managed to shift the balance of power a little. A few days before she spoke I had been in Brussels and had spoken to a very senior European figure.

He was pessimistic. Mrs May, in his view, did not have a good relationship with other European leaders. He thought the negotiations could "go wrong from the start" and was in no doubt that in those circumstances the UK would be the loser.

He pointed out that Brexit was not high on the agenda for voters in the other 27 EU states. It was a way of saying that in the forthcoming negotiations the UK was the needy one. Britain would have to compromise.

What he reflected is the widely-held view in the EU that the divorce will be messy, that real damage will be done to the British economy.

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Asked about reports that banks are relocating staff out of London former cabinet minister Sir Oliver Letwin told the BBC: "What you're hearing now from the financial institutions is the worst case. So they are assuming that we don't have anything better than just 'equivalence' to rely on - in which case they will have to do certain kinds of things that they are currently doing in London through subsidiaries which they create in Frankfurt or Paris."

"But of course if Theresa May and her colleagues can negotiate as part of the free trade deal that she is seeking something that locks in equivalence in a much better way so that there's a long term certainty then some of that will probably come back to London."

BBC Radio 4

Sir Oliver Letwin told the World at One that he had feared a "major move" out of London by financial institutions and a "real collapse" in the City of London.

But the former Conservative cabinet minister added, it now appeared that while some things were likely to move in the short term: "All the fears that many of us had about a mass movement, which could have had a really serious effect on the British economy, are probably very significantly overstated which is very good news for this country and makes [Theresa May's] negotiations easier."     

Oscar-winning film producer Lord Puttnam has accused the government of treating EU nationals living in the UK like "prisoners" in an exchange programme. 

The Labour peer urged ministers to take the moral high ground by guaranteeing their right to live in the UK instead of using them as "bargaining chips" in Brexit negotiations.

In a debate on the impact of the EU referendum on the creative industries, including film and television, Lord Puttnam warned that thousands of jobs were at stake.

Of the growing visual affects and film animation industry, he asked: 

Ministers in Wales need confidence their views on Brexit are being heard, the finance secretary says.

Brexit is a chance for the UK to strengthen the union between its four nations, Brexit Secretary David Davis has told ministers and officials from devolved administrations in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.

“It is only by us coming together that we can fully grasp the opportunities that our departure presents," he told the third meeting of the EU Negotiation Joint Ministerial Committee in London.

"We will use the latest thinking and analysis shared at today’s meeting to inform our work to deliver an exit that works for the whole of the UK," he said.

The gathering also discussed the Great Repeal Bill, which will end EU law's primacy in the UK. 

The discussions will continue at the Joint Ministerial Committee (Plenary) later this month.

Eleanor Garnier
Political Correspondent

Responding to reports the car manufacturer Toyota is examining how it will survive in a Brexit Britain, the prime minister's official spokesman insisted the government had "been very clear that the automotive sector is one of our key industries".

The spokesman stressed the government "will be working very hard in the negotiation process to ensure they can remain as successful as they have been so far". 

He said Theresa May had referenced the automotive industry and the financial sector as key areas in her speech outlining her 12-point Brexit plan on Tuesday.

"We will be, as we go into the negotiating period, looking at how we can ensure the best access to the European market for our key sectors," he said. 

Asked if Toyota would get the same deal as Nissan, he said: "We were very clear at the time no deal was offered to Nissan."

 "We've had discussions with the automotive industry - not just Nissan, not just Toyota - but across the whole sector," he said.

"We've listened to their concerns - we've listened to what they want to see going forward. We've been very clear that the automotive sector is one of our key industries and we will be working very hard in the negotiation process to be sure they can remain as successful as they have been so far." 

Is the UK's apparently clean break from the European Union going to trigger a second Scottish independence referendum? BBC Scotland political reporter Philip Sim weighs up the issues.

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The boss of Goldman Sachs has "slowed" moving parts of the US investment bank to Britain following the vote to leave the European Union. 

Lloyd Blankfein told Bloomberg News, that Goldman had been moving parts of its "global operations" team to London, but was now "slowing that decision".

He said Goldman was reluctant to create new teams in London in case they have to be moved in the future.

Mr Blankfein said that the UK government should be as 'accommodating as possible' to the financial services sector because of its importance to the UK economy.

He also said that he had concerns about the future of Europe once the UK has left because of Britain's long established importance to the world of international finance.