As day three of the World Economic Forum summit in Davos gets started, Philip Hammond has arrived, telling delegates at the gathering that Britain “is a great place to do business”.
The chancellor has also announced a £100m investment in UK technology, with the money going towards 1,000 new PhD places to promote research into artificial intelligence.
Mr Hammond will speak at a CBI event in Davos later today.
Meanwhile, female leadership will be under the microscope this morning, with speakers including Procter & Gamble exec Carolyn Tastad and Lithuania’s president, Dalia Grybauskaitė.
For all the latest news from Davos, follow our liveblog
Philip Hammond is on the bill today ,and will use his appearance at Davos to unveil a £100m investment in UK tech research.
He is also set to sell Britain as a business destination, and will tell delegates: “Britain is a great place to do business. And we are determined, as we leave the EU, to make sure it remains that way.
“We are leading the way in the tech revolution. I want to ensure we remain the standard bearer, so we must invest in our new economy so that it can adapt and remain competitive.
“We are backing British innovation to help create growth, more jobs and higher living standards.”
Tony Blair has popped up at Davos, calling for a second referendum on Brexit.
The former prime minister said Brexit is a “complete mess” and a new vote would be the “sensible” thing to do at this stage.
“You’ve got a Brexit that’s pointless, and one that’s painful. The choice is not a good one,” he said.
Ireland’s taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is onstage right now, speaking to other European leaders about “the new impetus for Europe”.
Europe’s influence on the world is diminishing, with economic power moving to the east, he says.
The key is for European countries to “stick together”.
Mr Varadkar is joined onstage by Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, Polish leader Mateusz Morawiecki, EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom and Ana Botin, executive chairman of Santander.
Varadkar notes he got “more than halfway through the panel before anybody mentioned tax or Brexit”.
He is facing questions on Ireland’s approach to taxing the tech companies that operate in the country. Ireland has come under fire in recent years for its tax arrangements for firms such as Apple, which was previously paying a corporate tax rate of just 1 per cent.
“I think big companies should pay their taxes… and should pay them where they are owed,” he says.
“We no longer tolerate stateless corporations, we’re forever closing loopholes.”
However, he does not want to apply a digital tax, as this would unfairly fall on the place where turnover is generated, rather than where value is created.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has warned that the world is "losing the race" on climate change.
Speaking from Davos, he said: “Climate change is the defining issue of our time. We are losing the race. It is absolutely central to reverse this trend."
Guterres called for global governments to make commitments beyond the Paris accord, which he says does not do enough.
“If what we agreed in Paris would be materialised, the temperature would rise more than 3.0 degrees (Celsius),” he said.
So what does the future hold for Europe?
“What we have to do over the next five to 10 years is move Europe from being just an economic power in the world and a trading bloc into an international group of nations that is politically influential,” says Leo Varadkar.
He adds that America has “regrettably” decided to move away from its former role in global influence.
Europe must “be a force for good in the world” on economic development, international development and climate change.
Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, delivered a message to the leaders attending Davos.
“Some people say that the climate crisis is something that we all have created, but that is just a convenient lie because if everyone is guilty then no-one is to blame - and someone is to blame.
“Some people, some companies and some decision-makers in particular have known exactly what priceless values they are sacrificing to continue making unimaginable amounts of money.”
She called on business leaders to set aside their economic goals aside and instead take “real and bold climate action”.
Mark Carney has put in an appearance at the WEF summit, where he answered questions about business’ preparations for Brexit.
“There are a series of logistical issues that need to be solved, and it’s quite transparent that in many cases they’re not,” he said.
“There is a limited amount that many businesses can do to prepare if there are going to be substantial delays on the logistical side.”
The Bank of England boss also pointed out that companies can only do so much to prepare.
“If you’re a car plant that relies on… 40 18-wheelers coming through Dover a day, and they have to show up within minutes of each other in order to meet the just-in-time requirements of the plant - you can’t stack things up all over Wales in order to ensure that you can continue to run it for months. That’s just a reality.”
More on Philip Hammond’s cancellation earlier today - a government spokesperson says the guest list for the panel was published before the chancellor confirmed he would attend.
Meanwhile, the Treasury said: “He has accommodated as many speaking requests as possible in the short time available.”
Philip Hammond has used his speech at a CBI lunch in Davos today to repeat his views on a no-deal Brexit - he said it would be a betrayal of the promises made during the referendum campaign, the Daily Mail’s Jason Groves reports.
David Adler, writing in the Independent, says: “Davos is much more than an occasion to mingle in the Swiss Alps. Instead, it serves a crucial function as a mechanism for coordinating and consolidating the global elite.
“ The forum’s exclusive format is anti-democratic by definition, and the proposals that flow from it are unlikely to reflect the needs and preferences of the communities they target – no matter how pure Bill Gates’s philanthropic intentions might be.”
What the world needs instead, he says, is the Progressive International movement, which he leads. Read more about his ideas here
A warning from Davos: Barclays boss Jes Staley says it’s “more than likely” there will be another financial crisis, but also thinks that this time around, “the banks will be the buffer, as opposed to the cause”.
Staley also weighed in on Brexit.
“There is no question there has been an economic cost paid by UK consumers as this uncertainty has been going for so long,” he told Bloomberg TV. “There are going to be shocks if indeed there is hard Brexit, and I don’t think that would be constructive, either for the EU or the UK.”
Worth noting that an estimated 1,500 private jet flights will be made in and out of Davos during this year’s summit, despite the green themes running through much of the agenda.
Andy Christie, private jets director at Air Charter Service, said: “Last year was the busiest year for private jets so far, showing an 11 per cent increase on 2017, with more than 1,300 aircraft movements.
“If we see a similar increase this year, we could be looking at almost 1,500 aircraft movements over the six days.”
Despite the number of environmental activists attending the summit, queues of limos have been photographed in Davos over the last few days, suggesting the green messages delivered by several speakers are yet to sink in.
