Israel and UK sign postBrexit ‘continuity’ deal
THE HOLOCAUST denier David Irving has been giving talks on “unusual history” at undisclosed venues in England and Scotland this month, according to his website.
The 80-year-old author, who lost a libel action against historian Deborah Lipstadt after she called him a Holocaust denier, was due to speak “privately” in Coventry, Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow and three other Scottish venues, his website said.
While his tour was due to end in Inverness tonight, another note posted on his website said it had “concluded successfully” already and he was back in London working on a book on Himmler.
Edward Sutherland, of the Confederation of Friends of Israel Scotland, told the website The Ferret, which reported the story, “We reject the discredited and grossly offensive views that David Irving has expressed about the Holocaust, and believe the secrecy surrounding his tour shows that even he now recognises that they are not appropriate for any public space.”
THE UK and Israel have signed a trade continuity agreement to take effect after Brexit, with the Department for International Trade saying the move would “deliver significant savings and help to safeguard British jobs.”
Liam Fox, the UK’s International Trade Secretary, and Eli Cohen, Israel’s Minister of Economy and Industry, signed the agreement in Jerusalem on Monday.
According to the Department for International Trade, the agreement “allows businesses to trade as freely as they do now, without any additional barriers or tariffs.”
The department also noted that the agreement could mean that “the British vehicles sector could avoid up to £9 million a year in tariff charges on their exports that would apply if the agree- ment wasn’t in place, while machinery and mechanical appliance exporters could avoid up to £5 million a year.”
UK consumers would “continue to benefit from more choice and lower prices on goods imported from Israel, such as pharmaceutical products”.
Israeli companies currently act as major suppliers of pharmaceuticals to the NHS; Teva Pharmaceuticals, an Israeli company, is the largest manufacturer of generic medicines in the world.
Dr Fox described the UK’s relationship with Israel as “stronger than it has ever been, with record levels of bilateral cooperation in trade and investment between our two nations.
“Today’s agreement will further help ensure UK and Israeli businesses, exporters and consumers have the certainty they need to continue trading freely and in confidence as the UK prepares to leave the EU.”