A Downing Street spokesperson said:
The German Chancellor Angela Merkel called the Prime Minister earlier today to offer her congratulations.
The Prime Minister confirmed her intention for Brexit talks to begin as planned in the next couple of weeks and that we would be looking for a reciprocal agreement on the rights of EU citizens and British citizens abroad at an early stage.
The Prime Minister has taken two further telephone calls today from other world leaders.
The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull called to congratulate the Prime Minister. They agreed the UK and Australia were close partners, and would continue to stand together, particularly in the fight against terrorism which was a shared threat facing us all. The Prime Minister offered her sincere condolences over the two Australians killed in the London Bridge attack, and over the police injuries sustained in the recent Melbourne attack.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Bill English called the Prime Minister to offer his congratulations. The Prime Minister said she was very sorry that a New Zealander had been injured in the London Bridge terrorist attack. They agreed they looked forward to continuing to work together as close partners.
The Prime Minister has taken two telephone calls today from other world leaders.
The French President Emmanuel Macron called to congratulate the Prime Minister, and said he was pleased that she would continue to be a close partner. The President invited the Prime Minister to visit France at the earliest possible opportunity, and they agreed that the strong friendship between our two countries was important and would endure.
The US President Donald Trump called the Prime Minister to offer his congratulations. Both sides agreed they look forward to continuing the close cooperation between our two countries.
The following Cabinet posts have been confirmed:
Further appointments will be added to this list as they are announced.
The undertakings had been put in place following the 1989 merger of local bus companies Badgerline and Midland Red West which was investigated by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission (MMC). The MMC ruled that the merger would remove competition for bus services contracted by the former Avon County Council. Local authorities tender for – and subsidise – unprofitable bus services to maintain important transport links for residents.
Badgerline was subsequently renamed FirstGroup Holdings Limited (a subsidiary of FirstGroup plc), which then became subject to the restrictions, including a cap on the amount they could receive from the local authority for running a tendered service – and a requirement to return any excess profit from such services.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has been reviewing the undertakings since January to see if there has been any change of circumstances which justifies their removal or variation.
The CMA has found that FirstGroup’s share of tendered bus services in the region has reduced significantly since the MMC report and that in the most recent tender rounds, FirstGroup did not win any contracts at three of the four Local Transport Authorities. The CMA engaged with local stakeholders and no party that we spoke to argued that the undertakings were having a beneficial effect and should be retained.
Given these changes and the increased level of competition between operators when the relevant local authorities contract bus services, the CMA has provisionally decided that there is no longer any need for the protection given by the undertakings.
The CMA is now consulting on this provisional decision and invites responses via the review case page, where all information relating to the review including the provisional decision is available.