Monday newspaper round-up: Trump, train strikes, Carney, Brexit

President Donald Trump and his lawyers will not participate in a congressional impeachment hearing this week, the White House has said, citing a lack of “fundamental fairness”. Trump’s aides responded defiantly on Sunday to the first of two crucial deadlines he faces in Congress this week as Democrats prepare to shift the focus of their impeachment inquiry from fact-finding to the consideration of possible charges of misconduct over his dealings with Ukraine. - Guardian

A month of misery for hundreds of thousands of rail commuters begins on Monday when RMT members of South Western Railway walk out on the first of 27 days of strike action. Hundreds of guards and a small number of drivers will not clock on for work again this Christmas, apart from on election day on 12 December, in a bitter row over the role and responsibilities of onboard train crew. The train firm was among others to be hit by similar strike action last year over the role of guards. – Guardian

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney has landed a high-profile diplomatic post as the United Nations’ special envoy on climate change in what will be his first new role after leaving Threadneedle Street next year. The Canadian, whose wife Diana is a prominent environmental campaigner, has put green issues to the fore since becoming Governor, most recently addressing the UN’s Climate Action Summit in New York in September on climate risks to financial stability. -Telegraph

Efforts to prevent small companies being abused by large customers are being undermined by a lack of resources and the indifference of Whitehall officials, the former late payment watchdog has warned. Paul Uppal, who stepped down as small business commissioner in October, said his office had been met with “radio silence” from civil servants and ministers over his approach to the job and that his budget was too small to tackle the “huge task” of getting big businesses to pay their bills on time. – The Times

The economy will pick up speed by 2021 if headwinds from Brexit are lifted, according to the CBI’s latest forecast. It predicted that GDP could be 1.8 per cent by 2021, after more modest expansion of 1.3 per cent this year and 1.2 per cent in 2020. The CBI forecasts are based on the “assumption that Britain leaves the EU by January 31 next year and has clear line of sight to an ambitious trade deal” and that such a deal must involve “alignment with EU rules where essential for frictionless trade”. – The Times