It could take the UK “many years” to establish fresh trade deals with fellow members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) once it has left the EU, the chief economist of the Geneva-based body said.

The businessman at the centre of a Europe-wide fraud in which falsely labelled horsemeat led to thousands of tonnes of meat being recalled has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

The European Union will not limit how much it seeks to claw back from companies including Apple and Amazon that are ensnared in tax probes if controversial deals with national governments are overturned.

If the EU banking union proposals are implemented in full then it will avoid governments having to bail out banks in the future, according to Gert Jan Koopman, deputy director general for state aid at the European Commission’s Directorate General for Competition.

Most of Ireland’s airports would be closed down if new rules being devised by the EU come into force, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary warned.