Prime minister says she will not stand in way of desire for new approach, in bid to get Tories behind deal
Theresa May has promised Tory MPs she will step down as prime minister within the next few months in a bid to get Eurosceptics to back her Brexit deal.
The prime minister indicated she would resign only if her Brexit deal passes in order to allow a new leader to shape the UK’s future relationship with the EU.
Continue reading...Minister promises to investigate report of firefight involving British personnel as claims swirl about child soldiers in Saudi-led force
The foreign office minister Mark Field has promised to get to the bottom of “very serious and well sourced” allegations that British SAS soldiers have been injured in a firefight with Houthi rebel soldiers in Yemen.
He was answering an urgent question asked in the Commons on Tuesday by the shadow foreign secretary, Emily Thornberry, who suggested the Britons may have been witnesses to war crimes, if weekend allegations were true that UK special forces were training child soldiers in the Saudi-led coalition.
Continue reading...Road safety measure part of package of reforms likely to be adopted despite Brexit
All new cars sold in the UK and Europe are to be fitted with devices to automatically stop drivers from exceeding the speed limit under sweeping changes to vehicle safety rules provisionally agreed by the EU.
Although Britain may no longer be part of the EU when the rules come into effect, the UK regulator, the Vehicle Certification Agency, has said it will mirror safety standards for vehicles in the UK.
Continue reading...Prime minister under pressure to say publicly she will hand over next stage to new leader
Theresa May is under intense pressure to set out a timetable for her departure from Downing Street to seal the support of Brexit hardliners for her twice-rejected deal.
The prime minister will address Conservative MPs at a meeting of the 1922 Committee of backbenchers on Wednesday as the House of Commons prepares to vote on alternatives to her Brexit deal.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including reaction to the Commons voting to try to take control of the Brexit process
The government has responded to the “Revoke Article 50 and remain in the EU” petition and has announced that it will debate it in Westminster on Monday.
The petition has so far garnered more than 5.7m signatures.
This government will not revoke article 50. We will honour the result of the 2016 referendum and work with parliament to deliver a deal that ensures we leave the European Union.
It remains the government’s firm policy not to revoke article 50. We will honour the outcome of the 2016 referendum and work to deliver an exit which benefits everyone, whether they voted to leave or to remain.
A motion Conservative MP Nick Boles will table tomorrow has appeared. Here the full text from The Telegraph’s Anna Mikhailova, for those who fancy a headache:
Here it is:
The Nick Boles Common Market 2.0 motion for tomorrow pic.twitter.com/9UTgr9HcPc
I enjoyed Ian Jack’s article on the branding of railway station names (From Singer to IBM, branding the railways is nothing new, 23 March). He might also have mentioned Chiltern Railways’ renaming of Bicester Town station, on the opening of the Oxford to Marylebone service, as Bicester Village in recognition of its proximity to the shopping outlet of the same name. Locals were furious, but it was canny, ensuring trains were well used throughout the day.
Nick Chadwick
Oxford
• I have often wondered why some bus stops are named after stores and others not. On the number 94 route, which goes down Oxford Street and Regent Street in London, there are stops called Selfridges and Hamley’s Toy Store. Do these pay Transport for London for this exposure?
Edward Smith
London
UK-based Iran International broadcast a separatist who spoke in support of the Ahvaz terrorist attack in 2018
Iran International did not breach the broadcasting code by interviewing a spokesman for a separatist group who praised last September’s terrorist attack in the Iranian city of Ahvaz, the British regulator Ofcom has ruled.
The news channel, which broadcasts in Farsi but is based west London, interviewed Yacoub Hor al-Tostari, a spokesman for the Arab Struggle Movement for the Liberation of Ahvaz in the immediate aftermath of the attack on a military parade which left 30 people dead, and which was later condemned by the UN security council as a “heinous and cowardly terrorist attack”.
Continue reading...Anna Patalong, performing at Royal Albert Hall, says free movement ‘essential’ for musicians
An opera singer who was asked to change her EU-themed dress for a concert at the Royal Albert Hall, in London, has described her choice of attire as a “subtle nod” to Europe at a time when she and other musicians fear for their livelihoods.
The British soprano Anna Patalong donned the yellow-and-blue outfit, along with a necklace of gold stars redolent of the EU flag, for a Classical Spectacular performance on Saturday after taking part in the anti-Brexit march in London earlier in the day.
Continue reading...Directive would apply to UK if it stayed in EU, and also during Brexit transition period
The European parliament has voted to scrap the twice-a-year custom of changing the clocks by an hour in spring and autumn by 2021, leaving only national governments to now give their assent.
The change would apply to the UK if it stays in the EU, and also during an extended transition period that is part of Theresa May’s Brexit deal.
Continue reading...Downing Street aides put question to hard Brexiters at Chequers summit last weekend
Downing Street aides directly asked hard-Brexit Conservatives at Chequers on Sunday whether Theresa May’s resignation as prime minister would be enough to get them to endorse finally the exit deal struck with the European Union, it has emerged.
The afternoon summit at the prime minister’s country retreat was carefully choreographed so that Boris Johnson, Iain Duncan Smith, Jacob Rees-Mogg and other Tory rebels present ended up in one-to-one chats with key No 10 staffers when the main meeting periodically broke up.
Continue reading...MPs vote by 329 to 302 for Letwin amendment, despite Theresa May saying government would not be bound by result
As not much has happened in the past hour, I’m going to close the blog by republishing my colleague Andrew Sparrow’s excellent snap analysis for those who missed it an hour or so ago. Thanks and goodnight.
Sky’s Lewis Goodall seems chirpy:
I’m going to bed and finally having a day off tomorrow. But in conclusion: something actually happened tonight.
No, really. I can’t believe it either.
Free movement, housing and social security rights at risk, says parliamentary report
EU citizens living in the UK would be stripped of their freedom of movement, housing and social security rights by Home Office legislation introduced to regulate immigration following Brexit, a parliamentary report has warned.
Despite repeated government reassurances that their privileges will be protected, a study by the joint committee on human rights (JCHR) concludes that more than 3 million Europeans living in Britain would be left in legal “limbo”.
Continue reading...Amendment giving MPs a series of votes on alternatives to May’s Brexit deal passes 329 votes to 302
MPs have inflicted a fresh humiliating defeat on Theresa May, voting to seize control of the parliamentary timetable to allow backbenchers to hold a series of votes on alternatives to her Brexit deal.
An amendment tabled by former Tory minister Oliver Letwin passed, by 329 votes to 302 on Monday night, as MPs expressed their exasperation at the government’s failure to set out a fresh approach.
Continue reading...Man held under Mental Health Act for damage at five mosques, which are not linked to latest attack
The Birmingham mosque attacks are not being treated as acts of far-right extremism or terrorism, police have said.
There have been at least six attacks on Birmingham mosques in recent weeks.
Continue reading...Report into police response in England and Wales found failure to handle cases sensitively hinders prosecution of traffickers
Categoric police failings are hindering the prosecution of human traffickers and barring victims of modern slavery from the support they are legally entitled to, according to a new super-complaint to the HM Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services.
The super-complaint – the first on modern slavery – has been submitted by London-based charity Hestia. It outlines how some police officers are not reporting cases of modern slavery to the Home Office and that a failure to sensitively handle cases of modern slavery is discouraging victims across England and Wales from supporting criminal investigations against their exploiters. The super-complaint system allows organisations to raise concerns on behalf of the public and confront fundamental issues.
Continue reading...With more than 120 MPs backing an amendment in support of indicative voting, it’s going to be a fraught five days
Many weeks have so far been billed as crunch weeks for Brexit. But with the revised departure date looming, Theresa May’s proposal looking all-but doomed and the prime minister’s own position openly questioned, the next days really do appear crucial. Here is what could happen and when.
Continue reading...Corbyn, Cable and other leaders write to Jeremy Hunt about ‘morally reprehensible’ policy
Five opposition parties in Westminster have called on the UK to end arms sales to Saudi Arabia on the fourth anniversary of the Yemen civil war, saying it has contributed to a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
The letter signed by leaders of the Labour party, Scottish National party, Liberal Democrats, Plaid Cymru and the Green party, comes as a fragile truce negotiated in December hangs by a thread.
Continue reading...Paramedics unable to save Abdirashid Mohamoud, who police say was chased by a group of men
Residents in a block of flats in west London have spoken of their horror at seeing a teenager stabbed to death on Friday night.
The boy, named as 17-year-old Abdirashid Mohamoud, was discovered with stab injuries outside a block of flats in Isleworth at about 10.35pm.
Continue reading...Ministry of Justice says criminals are stuffing rodents with drugs and mobile phones
Related: ‘It’s not just you who does the jail sentence, it’s the whole family’ | Clare Horton
Criminal gangs are using dead rats to smuggle contraband material such as drugs and mobile phones into jail, the Prison Service has said.
Continue reading...High-stakes Chequers summit breaks up without agreement
Theresa May’s prospects of getting her Brexit deal through parliament this week dramatically receded on Sunday night after a high-stakes summit with Boris Johnson and other leading hard-Brexiters at her country retreat broke up without agreement.
Tory rebels present said that the prime minister repeated “all the same lines” about her deal and that nothing new emerged during the three-hour meeting, at which Jacob Rees-Mogg, Iain Duncan Smith and Dominic Raab were also present.
Continue reading...