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As it happenedended
7 years ago

Spring Statement 2018 - as it happened: Philip Hammond accuses Labour 'Eeyores' of 'relentlessly talking Britain down'

All the updates from the Chancellor's first Spring Statement, as it happened

Lizzy Buchan
Political Correspondent
Tuesday 13 March 2018 13:45 EDT
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Spring Statement: Hammond labels Labour 'Eeyores' 'relentlessly talking Britain down'

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Philip Hammond has delivered his first ever Spring Statement, in which he announced slightly higher economic growth than expected.

The Chancellor - who has been criticised for being gloomy over Brexit - also attacked Labour as "Eeyores" for "relentlessly talking Britain down". In contrast, he said, his approach was more akin to "Tigger".

In a short speech that was stripped of tax and spending measures, Mr Hammond confirmed an expected drop in borrowing, higher-than-predicted GDP growth and the recent elimination of the deficit on day-to-day spending.

Meanwhile, Russia hit back at Theresa May after she issued an ultimatum to Vladimir Putin over the use of a deadly Russian nerve agent against an ex-spy and his daughter.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the British government had refused to provide Moscow with access to materials related to the substance used to poison Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury last weekend.

And in Brussels, MEPs said the Prime Minister has not provided enough clarity on Brexit ahead of a crunch vote to decide the EU's Brexit vision.

See below for live updates

7 years ago

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 10:17
7 years ago

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said the Kremlin has demanded access to samples of the nerve agent used to poison ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia so it can carry out checks.

However he claims the UK Government has denied Russia access to materials in the Skripal case, according to Reuters.

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 10:23
7 years ago

Latest here on Russia's response to the PM's words.

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 10:31
7 years ago

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says Russia will only cooperate with Britain on the investigation into last week's poisoning of an ex-Russian spy if it receives samples of the nerve agent that is believed to have sickened the ex-spy and his daughter. 

Lavrov told reporters that Moscow's requests to see samples of the nerve agent have been turned down, which he called a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, which outlaws the production of chemical weapons. He insisted that Russia is "not to blame" for the poisoning. 

British Prime Minister Theresa May said on Monday Russian ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter had been poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent of a type developed in the Soviet Union. May said Russia has until the end of Tuesday to explain how the substance ended up in Britain. 

Lavrov said on Tuesday Moscow is willing to cooperate with the probe but suggested that London would be "better off" complying with its international obligations "before putting forward ultimatums." 

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 10:41
7 years ago

Police are investigating a second "suspicious substance", which has been found in Parliament.

A Parliamentary spokesman said: “We are aware of a potential situation involving a suspicious substance which the Met Police are investigating. We cannot provide any more details at this stage.”

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 10:48
7 years ago

This is the second incident in two days, after a suspicious package was delivered to Parliament yesterday.

Here's our story from yesterday:

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 10:51
7 years ago

Here's the latest on the discovery of a suspicious package in Parliament - the second incident in as many days.

More here:

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 10:55
7 years ago

  ↵The world economy will expand at its fastest pace since 2011 this year, but the UK will continue to lag, according to the latest forecasts from the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD).

The Paris-based intergovernmental group said on Tuesday that it now anticipates the global economy to grow by 3.9 per cent both this year and next, from a previous forecast of 3.6 per cent for both years.

​Story here:

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 11:05
7 years ago

The Major of London read out racist abuse he receives online and he wants social media companies to do more to combat hate speech.

Speaking at the South by Southwest festival in Texas, he read out vicious messages sent to him on Twitter, several of which threatened his life and were Islamophobic in nature. ​

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 11:15
7 years ago

The Brexit transition period in which Britain’s relationship with the EU does not change should extend beyond the next UK general election so that “we can see what the outcome” of the vote is, a key figure in talks has said. ​

Story here: 

Lizzy Buchan13 March 2018 11:24

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