Ultimatum comes as sources say PM was ‘surprised’ by levels of checks on the border
Boris Johnson has been set a two-week deadline to table a plan for replacing the Irish backstop as further embarrassing details emerged of the prime minister’s chaotic visit to Luxembourg.
France’s president, Emmanuel Macron, and Finland’s prime minister, Antti Rinne, told reporters in Paris that they were both “concerned about what is happening in Britain”.
Continue reading...Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including day two of the supreme court hearing to decide if Boris Johnson’s five-week suspension of parliament was lawful
Eadie says even Lord Pannick, who represents Gina Miller, accepts that it can be legitimate for the executive to obtain political advantage from prorogation.
If this is the case, how can a court decide what level of political advantage is acceptable, and what level is not.
Prorogation has been used by the government to gain a legislative and so political advantage. One of the most notable examples of that was its use to facilitate the speedy passage of what became the Parliament Act 1949. Under section 2 of the Parliament Act 1911 a non-money bill could only be enacted without the consent of the House of Lords if it was passed in three successive sessions by the House of Commons. In order to procure the speedy enactment of the 1949 Act the government arranged for a session of minimal length in 1948. Parliament was prorogued on 13 September 1948 to the following day. Following the passage of the parliament bill by the House of Commons, it was then prorogued again on 25 October 1948. Accordingly, even if the prorogation under consideration in the present case was, as the claimant and the interveners contend, designed to advance the government’s political agenda regarding withdrawal from the European Union rather than preparations for the Queen’s speech, that is not territory in which a court can enter with judicial review.
This is from the FT’s legal commentator, David Allen Green.
Interesting that there is now not even any lip-service at the Supreme Court that the prorogation was for a new Queen's Speech
Government submissions seem to be that the prorogation power stands, whatever its purpose and effect
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson’s meeting with the European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker
Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, was asked if he was confident of progress as he went in for his lunch with Boris Johnson. According to the Press Association, he replied: “We will see.”
According to the Telegraph’s James Crisp, Juncker also offered to pay for lunch.
Juncker and Johnson are having their powwow in Le Bouquet Garni. 18th C restaurant opposite ducal palace. Boris, who was greeted by a protest said nothing on way in.
Juncker on other hand
.. 1/ pic.twitter.com/ccgfgW5X3b
Juncker said he never runs out of patience before saying he would pick up the bill.
"I have no choice" he joked.
Here is some footage of Boris Johnson meeting Jean-Claude Juncker. This is from the BBC’s Larissa Kennelly.
Commission Pres @JunckerEU shakes hands with @BorisJohnson as he arrives for (s)nails and salmon in Luxembourg. Lunch on Juncker apparently. pic.twitter.com/vWFoTEYKm7
Continue reading...Breaking ‘manacles’ comments come a day before PM travels for Brexit talks in Luxembourg
European officials reacted with exasperation on Sunday as Boris Johnson compared himself to the Incredible Hulk throwing off the shackles of the EU the day before he is due to travel to Luxembourg for talks in pursuit of a Brexit deal.
No 10 struck a combative tone before the scheduled meeting with European commission president Jean-Claude Juncker saying Johnson would tell him that the UK must reject any new Brexit deadline.
Continue reading...Stephen Barclay and Priti Patel insist focus is on achieving agreement before 31 October
Two of Boris Johnson’s senior cabinet ministers have talked up the possibility of securing a Brexit deal through some divergence on the rules in Northern Ireland, as the government’s rhetoric showed fresh signs of shifting ahead of crucial talks next week.
With Johnson due to meet Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, on Monday, Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary, and the home secretary, Priti Patel, accepted the Irish border was likely to be a key to any potential agreement.
Continue reading...Jeremy Corbyn has come under growing internal pressure to commit Labour to a unequivocal policy of remaining in the European Union as more than 100 councillors issued a joint warning to the party’s ruling body that any form of Brexit would threaten jobs, public services, workers’ rights and the environment.
In a letter to the national executive committee (NEC), which meets this week, the Labour councillors, including several leaders of county and borough councils, called on the party “to campaign unambiguously and energetically for a public vote on Brexit and to endorse a ‘remain and transform’ position in all circumstances”.
Continue reading...The prime minister conjures up a magic cardboard Brexit bus, overseen by Dominic Cummings
•You can buy your own print of this cartoon
Continue reading...A no-deal exit would trigger complex negotiations, argues former top DexEU civil servant
Claiming a no-deal Brexit represents a clean break with the European Union is “nonsensical”, according to Philip Rycroft, the former permanent secretary at the Department for Exiting the EU.
Boris Johnson has promised to extricate the UK from the EU on 31 October “come what may” – and has hinted that he could try to get around legislation mandating him to request a Brexit delay.
Continue reading...Downing Street has no plans to publish proposals despite chance of border compromise
Downing Street has played down the prospect of an early breakthrough in Brexit talks despite hopes of a compromise on the Irish backstop, as Boris Johnson prepares to meet the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker.
There has been a renewed drive in No 10 for an agreement since parliamentarians passed a law aimed at blocking a no-deal Brexit on 31 October and twice rejected Johnson’s demand for a snap general election.
Continue reading...Commons Speaker issues direct challenge to ministers threatening to ignore legislation
John Bercow has threatened Boris Johnson that he will be prepared to rip up the parliamentary rulebook to stop any illegal attempt by the prime minister to take the UK out of the EU without a deal on 31 October.
In a direct warning to No 10, the Speaker of the House of Commons said he is prepared to allow “additional procedural creativity” if necessary to allow parliament to block Johnson from ignoring the law.
Continue reading...Leaked resolution says it will use veto against any Brexit deal without an insurance policy
The European parliament is to criticise the British government’s treatment of EU citizens living in the UK and insist it will refuse to ratify a deal that fails to include an Irish backstop or provisions that tie the UK into EU standards after Brexit.
A leaked copy of a resolution of the parliament due to be voted on next week lays out a series of concerns about the conduct of Boris Johnson’s government. The parliament has a veto on any deal agreed.
Continue reading...It is said of Harold Wilson that he epitomised the quip: “If you can’t ride two horses at the same time, you shouldn’t be in the circus.” He was often criticised for putting pragmatism before principle in his 13 years as Labour leader, but it was an attribute that served him well in preventing the party from tearing itself apart on Europe in the 1970s.
When Wilson won a fourth general election on 10 October 1974, he faced the challenge of navigating Labour’s deep divisions on whether or not to reverse the 1972 decision to join the common market. The party’s election manifesto had promised the British people a “final say” on Britain’s membership without committing itself one way or another to a recommendation. “It is as yet too early to judge the likely results of the tough negotiations which are taking place,” it said.
Continue reading...Court backs MPs who said prorogation breached constitution
Scottish appeal court judges have declared Boris Johnson’s decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the October Brexit deadline is unlawful.
The three judges, chaired by Lord Carloway, Scotland’s most senior judge, overturned an earlier ruling that the courts did not have the power to interfere in the prime minister’s political decision to prorogue parliament.
Continue reading...Two British-Australian women believed to be in prison, while location of Australian man is unknown
Three Australian citizens – two of whom also hold British passports – have been arrested and detained in Iran.
A female British-Australian academic who has been teaching at a university in Australia was arrested several months ago, sources confirmed to the Guardian.
Continue reading...EU trade commissioner says he believes ‘penny is finally dropping’ for Boris Johnson
The EU is pinning hopes on British negotiators reverting to the Northern Ireland-only backstop that was previously rejected by Theresa May as a threat to the constitutional integrity of the UK.
With Boris Johnson facing a choice between breaking his word and extending the UK’s EU membership beyond 31 October or bringing back a tweaked deal for a last-gasp vote in parliament, officials and diplomats have expressed hope that the prime minister will make a U-turn.
Continue reading...Ambassador Liu Xiaoming says politicians free to express their opinion – within limits
China’s ambassador to the UK has accused British politicians of exhibiting a “colonial mindset” when they express support for demonstrators in Hong Kong or raise concerns about Huawei or freedom of navigation in the South China Sea.
Liu Xiaoming said British MPs were free to express their opinion about the Hong Kong crisis but needed to recognise there were limits. Critical comments were not a problem “as long as you do not interfere in Hong Kong’s affairs,” he said.
Continue reading...Leo Varadkar says UK and EU will still have to negotiate, with same problems on agenda
The Irish prime minister has warned Boris Johnson that there will be no “clean break” from the EU, with further fraught negotiations to come if Britain crashes out of the bloc without a deal.
In a tough message to his British counterpart on the steps of Ireland’s Government Buildings, Leo Varadkar warned Britain would be back to square one on the very issues that it refuses to agree on now in a no-deal scenario.
Continue reading...PM battles to keep Brexit plan on track after Amber Rudd quit the government on Saturday
Boris Johnson will fly to Dublin to meet the Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, on Monday, as he battles to show his Brexit plan remains on track after Amber Rudd dramatically quit the cabinet.
Against a backdrop of mounting disquiet inside government at Johnson’s gung-ho approach and the combative style of his chief strategist Dominic Cummings, the British prime minister hopes to demonstrate that he is serious about negotiating a fresh Brexit deal.
Continue reading...Adrian Darya, previously called Grace 1, photographed near Russian navy facility
Britain is seeking to establish whether Iran has sold oil to Syria in breach of written undertakings given by Tehran to authorities in Gibraltar.
Iran’s foreign ministry said on Sunday that a tanker seized by British Marines on 9 July and released in August had reached its final destination “on the Mediterranean coast” and sold its oil – without identifying the country.
Continue reading...French foreign minister decries ‘worrying’ lack of progress as EU diplomats express frustration
The French government has threatened to veto a further Brexit extension due to the “worrying” lack of progress in the recent talks, as EU diplomats expressed their frustration at being caught up in game-playing by the British government.
In a sign of rising exasperation, the French foreign minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, highlighted the lack of realistic proposals being put forward by Downing Street as an alternative to the Irish backstop.
Continue reading...