Sunday press review: UK-EU ties, HMRC tax digital costs, bank AI limits, Whitbread and JLR

what happened

Andy Burnham argued that closer cooperation with the EU could lower living costs for UK households by reducing post-Brexit trade barriers. According to TradingView, citing the Sunday Mirror, the prime minister is expected to sign agreements in Brussels on 20 November covering food trade, emissions trading and opportunities for young people to live and study across Europe. Burnham said the deals could help cut supermarket prices and support farmers.

According to The Telegraph, HMRC's Making Tax Digital programme has now cost taxpayers over £1bn, based on Freedom of Information responses. Spending rose by £142m in 2025-26, and the project is more than £800m above its original budget. Britain's biggest banks, including HSBC, Nationwide, NatWest, Barclays and Lloyds, have blocked AI assistants from acting independently on customer accounts over concerns about errors and unclear liability.

Norges Bank said it will vote against appointing Corvex partner James Gemmel to Whitbread's board; the fund holds about 3% of the company. Meanwhile, Jaguar Land Rover is escalating its legal dispute with BYD over the Ti7 SUV, and a Dutch court is due to hear the case this week, according to The Times.

why it matters

These stories are mainly corporate and political, so they are unlikely to move sterling or the FTSE 100 much. The most market-relevant angle is Whitbread ahead of the shareholder vote, along with regulation of AI tools in British banking.

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