Brussels attacked by City watchdog

THE boss of the City watchdog has rebuked Brussels for its determination to put up barriers for finance firms after Brexit.

Andrew Bailey spoke out against protectionism at the annual City Week conference yesterday, warning it will only hurt businesses inside the European Union if they are cut off from London’s world-leading markets.

Bailey said: ‘Unfortunately, I have heard the argument made that the best way to preserve financial stability would be to become less open. Let me reiterate, to do this means restricting the activity of parties in the EU.’

Bailey praised officials under Prime Minister Theresa May for negotiating a transition deal which means nothing will change until the end of 2020, and for tweaking the rules to avoid disruption this side of the Channel.

But he added the EU should make more efforts to adjust its own rules.