Britain can now compete with US and Asia after my Brexit reforms, says Jeremy Hunt

Jeremy Hunt is to tear up hundreds of pages of “overbearing” EU legislation in a bid to boost Britain’s financial services industry after Brexit. 

Finance chiefs have insisted that the deregulation is “not regulatory a race to the bottom” and is about having “good growth and good regulation at the same time”.

Chris Hayward, policy chairman of the City of London Corporation, said the reforms were “not a regulatory race to the bottom”.

5 things to start your day 

1) National Grid on standby to pay households to cut energy usage – Grid operator warns of implementing ‘enhanced actions’ amid looming supply squeeze

2) Hunt to tear up ‘overbearing’ EU rules to boost City post-Brexit – Reform package comes as businesses warn Chancellor’s tax raid has had a ‘chilling effect’ on the economy

3) Rail strikes could last ‘indefinitely’, warns Mick Lynch – Industrial action to continue unless ministers drop calls to remove guards from trains

4) Why Britain is using its special relationship with the US to boost gas supplies – Import deal to end dependence on Russian energy ‘once and for all’

5) UK must cut economic reliance on China, says Labour – Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a ‘wake-up call’ for UK’s economic resilience

What happened overnight 

Asian stocks climbed after US shares posted their first advance this month, with traders focused on upcoming inflation figures in the US for clues on the path of interest rate hikes.

A benchmark of Asia equities headed for a sixth weekly gain, the longest such stretch in two years.

Hong Kong stocks opened slightly higher, the Hang Seng Index inching up 0.17pc to 19,484.23.

Meanwhile, the Shanghai Composite Index was flat, declining 0.23 points to 3,197.12, while the Shenzhen Composite Index on China’s second exchange barely moved, edging up 0.34 points to 2,064.72.

Tokyo stocks opened higher on Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei 225 index up 0.47pc in early trade, while the broader Topix index gained 0.55pc, sitting at 1,952.16.