UK Headline News

Leaked minutes of a meeting in Brussels suggest Downing Street is trying to fast-track an EU-Canada trade deal that will allow corporations to sue national governments in secret courts without parliamentary consent.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is free trade deal between Canada and Europe, which shares many traits with the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) deal being brokered between the EU and US.

Campaigners warn CETA, which has been finalized but not ratified, would pave the way for a “corporate power grab,” while undercutting vital legislation put in place to protect workers’ rights, the environment and consumer safety.

Source: https://www.rt.com/uk/344462-ceta-leak-trade-brexit/

Bank customers may be obliged to bear the bill for fraud against their accounts, under proposed changes under consideration between banks, the UK government and GCHQ.

Under the plans, individuals or companies with poor online security could be “frozen out of banking services or even excluded from the system whereby banks compensate customers whose accounts are hacked”, the Financial Times reports.

UK banks – unlike those in the US – routinely cover the costs of online fraud, at least in cases where customer negligence (such as sharing PIN codes or cards with third parties) is excluded. Pushing the burden of fraudulent losses towards customers is likely to be hugely controversial.