Friday newspaper round-up: Chaotic Brexit, takeover warning, retail surge

Officials are planning to tell Britons to change what they eat in the event of a chaotic Brexit because Whitehall predicts that some sources of fresh food from European Union countries would be cut off. The government has begun detailed planning on food supplies if Britain leaves without a deal and has identified a number of sites for massive hangars to stockpile food, including one near Carlisle and others in Scotland and on the south coast. - The Times

England’s chief medical officer has called on the government to consider imposing taxes on foods high in sugar and salt, as it has done with sugary drinks, and accused the food industry of failing to help deliver healthier diets. In her annual report, Dame Sally Davies said tougher action was needed. Obesity and diseases such as type 2 diabetes were taking a huge toll of health and the economy, she said, and a voluntary agreement with the industry to lower sugar and salt content had not worked. - Guardian

Police are considering shooting down the drone causing chaos at Gatwick Airport as passengers face disruption for a third day. On Friday morning, the airport re-opened its runway after 36 hours to "a limited number of flights" due to "additional mitigating measures" from the Government and the military, according to Gatwick's chief executive. - Telegraph

Britain’s car manufacturing output fell by almost a fifth in November, as Brexit worries and weakening demand in key markets affected the industry. Car manufacturing declined by 19.6% in November compared to the same month in 2017, a steeper decline than the 10% year-on-year fall that occurred in October, according to industry body the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). - Guardian

A senior politician has warned that the government’s proposed new takeover rules could lead to conflicts between business and defence interests in Britain and must be properly implemented. Rachel Reeves, MP, chairwoman of the business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) committee, said that although the government was proposing a bigger role for ministerial intervention in certain foreign takeovers, it was still unclear how it planned to implement the new rules or whether it even had the resources to manage the expanded regime. - The Times

The owner of British Gas is to bring a legal challenge against Ofgem, accusing it of setting the energy price cap too low, costing Britain’s biggest supplier £70 million. Centrica last night said it was seeking a judicial review against the regulator over how it calculated wholesale costs that suppliers face when it set the cap. - The Times

Retailers are hoping for a surge in sales this weekend as shoppers switch from ordering online to hitting the high street for last minute Christmas purchases. Friday is expected to be the busiest shopping day of the year for non-food retailers, with about a fifth more shoppers visiting high streets, retail parks and shopping centres than on a typical day. - Guardian

Councils will have to cut more services without extra funding once new arrangements to give them greater financial independence come into force after 2020, the Institute for Fiscal Studies has warned. Libraries, children’s social services, public health, housing and bin collections could be at risk as social care costs swallow up local authority budgets. - The Times

A recently floated peer-to-peer business lender lost a fifth of its market value yesterday after a leading analyst raised the alarm over the quality of the loans arranged on Funding Circle’s platform. Citi, the Wall Street bank, warned that “evidence of a credit deterioration” had raised doubts over the group’s ability to continue growing at its current breakneck pace. - The Times

Prosecutors in Japan have re-arrested Carlos Ghosn, possibly ending any hopes the former Nissan chairman had of an early release from detention over financial misconduct allegations. Ghosn, who has been detained for more than a month, was re-arrested on Friday morning on suspicion of aggravated breach of trust and could face another 10 days in detention. - Guardian

Staff working at KPMG have complained about being treated like children after the accountancy firm said that it would punish them for missing deadlines to file important paperwork. The Big Four accountant said employees who failed to complete their timesheets — a log of how many hours they have spent working on projects that are submitted each week — would be fined £100. - The Times