10/01/2017 London News

The head of the London Stock Exchange has warned over

the possible exodus of thousands of jobs in the finance sector

Xavier Rolet told MPs his customers "simply would not wait",

Others say the impact on jobs in the City is being exaggerated.

Waiting, waiting, waiting - but patience is wearing thin.

The man in charge of the London Stock Exchange has

warned his clients simply would not wait and would move operations away

from London amid all the Brexit uncertainty.

Today, Xavier Rolet told the committee of MPs charged

with scrutinising the Treasury that a five-year deal maintaining

existing business arrangements with the EU was needed

Without it, he says, jobs will be lost.

There is no doubt that an economic impact, in terms of, of course,

the jobs that power this industry, and I'm not just talking, of course,

about the clearing jobs themselves, which number into the few thousands,

but the very large array of ancillary functions,

whether it's syndications, trading, treasury management,

middle office, back office, risk management, software,

which range into far more than just a few thousands,

to tens of thousands of jobs, would then start migrating.

Banks have issued warnings since the Brexit vote,

claiming thousands of jobs would shift to rival financial

centres across Europe if Britain loses the right to sell financial

US banking giant JP Morgan warned 4,000 jobs could go.

Goldman Sachs said it could move 2,000.

And HSBC claimed 1,000 positions could be transferred

Pessimism or worry doesn't come into it - it's about realism.

Clearly, if Britain does not remain in the single market,

and there are not adequate transition provisions

and longer-term provisions, we're going to loses some jobs.

We're keen to minimise that as far as possible,

as is everybody else in the financial services industry.

I'm afraid it sounds like yet more project fear...

But those who campaigned for Brexit say claims of a negative impact

This is why I don't think jobs will go to Frankfurt or Paris -

We have a lot of expertise in the City, over hundreds

of years, way before the EU, and that will continue.

And we're the largest financial centre in the world.

The Government says it's determined that our country remains a great

For now, though, one certainty is, there will be more waiting before

we know what Brexit Britain will mean for the financial sector.

But in contrast, news of a US tech firm expanding

Contact yes. The owner of the popular photo sharing app Snapchat

has announced it will be registering a site here in London. It has 150

million users worldwide, 10 million here in the UK. There are only 75

employees in the UK at the moment but it has plans to expand in the

future. This is significant, because other companies like Google and

Facebook have been criticised in the past for registering their company

in lower tax countries, like Ireland. And by setting up here in

the UK, Snapchat will be paying their taxi. They will also be

channelling profits from a few other countries through the UK. A

spokesman said it was a common-sense decision and the UK was a great

place to build a business. Snapchat is gearing up for a public offering

this year, at a valuation of $25 billion, so this is very good news

that they have decided to base themselves here in the UK.

So, it's not been a good week so far for commuters.

Yesterday it was a Tube strike - today a strike

In fact, the first of three days of walkouts this week.

Our reporter Marc Ashdown was on one of the handful of trains that

Another strike day, but here, there is talk that one service

7.34 to London Victoria is just outside the station...

This is the 7.34 service to Victoria.

I am quite surprised it's running, but I'm glad it's

Er, yeah, not quite sure why there's just one train running.

Caterham here, we've got a train straight through to Victoria.

So, erm, yeah, long may it continue, actually.

It is a bit of a shame they didn't publicise it better.

On a strike day, this is a bit of a scandal.

It was listed on Southern's website and the operator pointed out

it was only able to offer a very limited service.

Some are ditching the trains altogether.

Just waiting for the coach to arrive.

Scared of losing her new job at a charity, she's taking a coach.

Slightly panicked by the fact that the driver just said that

yesterday it took him four hours to get to London, by coach.

But it still might be better than this.

The strike is having a knock-on effect on other commuter routes,

like South West Trains services through Clapham and Vauxhall.

Terribly, because I've had to stay at my sister's rather

It's been a nightmare, and again tomorrow.

So I'm standing here thinking, how do I reorganise my calendar,

so I don't have to go in to the office?

London Bridge, practically deserted today.

I live in Liverpool, so it was actually quicker coming

from Liverpool to London than it was to get from London

Back on board the 7.34 mystery lone commuter train,

This will frustrate those who weren't so lucky.

It's hard to make out, but this is East Croydon

The train was not advertised to stop here, and Southern told us it

wouldn't have been able to cope with the overcrowding.

In a rare treat, it also arrived on time after a smooth ride.

So, did the coach trip for any better?

Two-and-a-half hours, and we've reached Fulham.

Three-and-a-half hours later, almost quarter to 11, I'm at work.

The journey home was equally as challenging.

Commuters will chance it yet again tomorrow.

Now to what the Dean of Southwark has described as a "once

The cathedral's historic bells are blessed ready to be re-hung

And, in a tradition that dates back to medieval times,

the bells are baptised, given names and even godparents.

He says it sounds bizarre, but it is significant.

I think one of the most important things about bells in this country

that people really appreciate is the sound of joy that they make.

And when people hear the sound of bells, I think

We have a ring of 12 bells here at Southwark.

All bells need an MOT every hundred years to make

The recasting and the re-engineering of parts of the bells only happens

So, this is a once in more than a lifetime event,

which is why it's such an exciting moment for the cathedral to go

through, to see the bells all out, because they're hidden away.

You hear the sound, but people can't really see them.

And there is an ancient tradition, a medieval tradition, really,

They're given names, they have godparents,

they're anointed, sprinkled with water, all the

We've even got a christening cake for these bells.

Names were given to bells, and they were baptised,

The other bells, we thought, how could we dress them

And we thought it would be beautiful if the river

And it looks as though they're floating on a bed of wool.

I'm excited because the bells are an important part of our life,

because it's the bells that really say, we're alive, come on in.

That's always the message - come on in, the place

As the bells are raised once more into the tower,

we will have our voice back and be able to contribute to

That's it for now from me, but let's find out

what the weather's up to, with Wendy.

Dare I say it, I heard you mention snow? Yes, the first few flakes of

the year are definitely possible. It will be feeling wintry. That change

comes tonight. For the time being, plenty of cloud with a breeze but it

is mild. By the end of the night, we could be in double figures. The this

little bit of rain here, in the early hours of the morning. It is

actually a cold front, and as it clears through, fixed as will be

starting to head down. At the same time, the wind speed will be heading

up. It will be breezy at the end of the day tomorrow running some

sunshine. It will be feeling rather cold. And there is a warning for

snow on Thursday. There could be a substantial amount of it, with

record driving conditions at least. There could be some that settles. On

the outlook, you can see that the best case in only is that it falls

as rain. And there could be some weekly show around towards the end

of the week, and to start the weekend as well. For more on that

snow situation, over to Jay Wynne now.

Quite a lot going on over the next few days. The strong north-westerly

wind will drag some really cold Arctic air across our shores full

stop that will be with us for the