London — The British government’s new blueprint for Brexit is a "real blow" to London’s all-important finance sector as it will damage jobs, tax revenues and growth, a City official said on Thursday. Thursday’s Brexit white paper "is a real blow for the UK’s financial and related professional services sector", Catherine McGuinness, policy chairwoman of the City of London Corporation, said in a statement. "With looser trade ties to Europe, the financial and related professional services sector will be less able to create jobs, generate tax and support growth across the wider economy," she said. About £1.4-trillion in assets is managed in Britain for European clients, the government’s white paper noted, and the City hosts most of the EU’s trading for banks and insurance companies. City firms would lose their passporting rights to operate freely across the EU, once Britain exits the bloc’s single market after Brexit in March 2019, the paper conceded. Due to deep cross-Channel links, sp...
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