Sunday newspaper round-up: Brexit, Savings, British Gas

A cross-party summit that included both leavers and remainers has been held in high secrecy to address the failings of Brexit in the national interest. Also present were diplomats, defence experts and the heads of the largest businesses and lenders. A source said: "The main thrust of it was that Britain is losing out, that Brexit it not delivering, our economy is in a weak position,” said the source. “It was about moving on from leave and remain, and what are the issues we now have to face, and how can we get into the best position in order to have a conversation with the EU about changes to the UK-EU trade and cooperation agreement when that happens?" - Observer

One million more Britons will begin to pay taxes on their savings in 2023 because of the stealth raid by the Treasury and rising interest rates. According to an analysis by consultancy LCP, since the £1,000 tax-free allowance on savings interest and other thresholds had not been increased since their introduction in 2016, an additional 125,000 Britons had been dragged into paying tax on their savings. Throw in rising interest rates and the number of tax payers was expected to rise from 1.4m when the policy was introduced to approximately 2.4m now. - Sunday Telegraph

Centrica, the owner of British Gas, will post record annual profits of approximately £3bn this week. The results will follow on from a row over debt collectors installing pre-payment meters by force, likely stoking new accusations of profiteering by energy companies. Millions of British Gas's customers, and those of other providers, are struggling to pay their bills as prices rocketed due to the war in Ukraine. Chief executive officer Chris O'Shea will also likely come under pressure to reduce his pay and incentive package which could reach £4.26m thanks to the company's performance. - Financial Mail on Sunday

Inflation figures due out this week will likely show that prices remain stubbornly high in January above 10%, versus the Bank of England's 2% target. Indeed, Samuel Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics believed the latest inflation figures would make members of the Monetary Policy Committee "wince". The data will also give the hawks on the MPC ammunition to keep pushing for higher interest rates. BoE Governor Andrew Bailey meanwhile has argued that the UK had already turned the corner on inflation, predicting that it will decline to 4% by the end of 2023. - Financial Mail on Sunday