The mother of Harry Dunn, a British teenager who died in a collision with a car driven on the wrong side of the road by Anne Sacoolas, an American woman who claimed diplomatic immunity, said she asked Donald Trump to ‘do the right thing’ when they met at the White House on Tuesday. The US president told Dunn’s parents that Sacoolas was in an adjoining room but they turned down the offer to meet her
Continue reading...Category Archives: Foreign policy
Boris Johnson ‘on brink of Brexit deal’ after border concessions
Negotiators understood to have agreed in principle to customs border down Irish Sea
Boris Johnson appears to be on the brink of reaching a Brexit deal after making major concessions to EU demands over the Irish border.
A draft text of the agreement could now be published on Wednesday if Downing Street gives the final green light, according to senior EU and British sources.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson wins more backing from MPs for Brexit deal
Eurosceptics and Labour MPs indicate they could back prime minister’s deal if he clinches agreement in Brussels
Boris Johnson is edging towards the parliamentary numbers needed to pass a Brexit deal after more hardline Eurosceptics and pro-deal Labour MPs indicated they could back a new agreement made with the EU.
The prime minister will need to win over almost all the 28 Tory “Spartans” who held out against Theresa May’s deal if he manages to bring an agreement back from Brussels, as well as either the Democratic Unionist party or a chunk of Labour backbenchers.
Continue reading...Support grows for a new Brexit poll amid fears over Johnson’s plan
DUP raises doubts on customs union, while Labour says it will whip MPs to support a second referendum
Pro-remain MPs predicted on Saturday that they were gaining sufficient cross-party support to secure a second Brexit referendum as fresh doubts were raised over whether Boris Johnson can secure a deal with the EU that can pass through parliament.
Related: No-deal Brexit will wreck Tories’ reputation as party of business, says Lidington
Continue reading...Brexit deal prospects look promising, says Nicky Morgan
Minister voices hopes of progress after talks between UK and Ireland over border
The prospects of a Brexit deal with the EU appear to be “promising” after negotiations between Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar over the Irish border, Nicky Morgan has said.
A day after the British prime minister signalled the possibility of a U-turn on his plans, the culture secretary said the “mood music … seems positive, but clearly there are lots of details to be worked out.”
Continue reading...Johnson’s major U-turn sets up 48 hours to clinch Brexit deal
EU gives go-ahead to weekend meetings after PM appears to backtrack on customs stance
Boris Johnson has signalled that he will make a last-ditch U-turn on his plans for the Irish border, setting up 48 hours of intense negotiations that will make or break a Brexit deal.
On a day of rapid movement in talks, EU sources said the prime minister had conceded that there could not be a customs border on the island of Ireland – a critical step away from his previous position.
Continue reading...Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe’s daughter arrives back in UK
Husband of jailed British-Iranian hopes Gabriella’s return ‘unlocks another’
The five-year-old daughter of the imprisoned British-Iranian woman Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe has returned to the UK.
Gabriella was living with her grandparents in Tehran and visiting her mother in prison in an attempt to minimise the trauma inflicted upon the family, while her father, Richard Ratcliffe, campaigned for his wife’s release. She was arrested three-and-a-half years ago on spying charges, which she denies.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar say they ‘see pathway’ to Brexit deal
Taoiseach ‘convinced’ UK and Ireland want an agreement in interests of all parties
Boris Johnson and Leo Varadkar have agreed there is a “pathway to a possible Brexit deal”, surprising sceptical EU officials with their upbeat assessment after more than three hours of private talks.
The British prime minister hosted his Irish counterpart at a country house in the north-west of England for talks on Thursday that had been expected to break down. But when the pair emerged from discussions they painted a more optimistic picture, suggesting the Brexit logjam could be broken by the end of the month.
Continue reading...Brexit: Varadkar says new agreement ‘possible’ by end of October after talks with Johnson – live news
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Boris Johnson’s meeting with Leo Varadkar to discuss Brexit
- Johnson and Varadkar ‘agreed they could see pathway to possible deal’
- What does Johnson-Varadkar statement mean?
- Jeremy Corbyn’s speech on Labour’s agenda
- EU nationals lacking settled status ‘could be deported’
Brexit party MEPs vote against plans to address Russian propaganda
Brexit party MEPs vote against plans to tackle Russian propaganda https://t.co/ZP99X4GXrN
A few key dates for the diary:
Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay will meet the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, in Brussels on Friday when they are expected to assess whether there are the grounds to move forward.
Continue reading...Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal appears doomed as deadline looms
EU may offer to extend Brexit talks to summer, despite PM’s insistence UK will leave on 31 October
Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan appeared to be all but dead on Tuesday night as the government admitted there was little prospect of a deal before 31 October, following a day of furious recriminations.
The prime minister spoke to the Irish taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, on the phone after a stormy 24 hours of briefing and counter-briefing, as concerns about his tactics were even raised in Johnson’s cabinet.
Continue reading...Brexit: Tusk accuses Johnson of ‘stupid blame game’ as No 10 signals talks about to collapse – live news
Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as doubts grow over future of Brexit negotiations
- EU accuses UK of playing ‘stupid blame game’ after No 10 briefing
- No 10 memo threatening EU states over extension ‘is shaming’
- Unofficial No 10 briefing on Brexit - Summary and analysis
This is from Mujtaba Rahman, the Brexit specialist at the Eurasia consultancy.
Collapse of negotiations now leaves MPs with a huge dilemma. Do they put trust in Benn Act to be robust enough to prevent the no-deal Boris will now gravitate to? Or do they oust him in a VONC to make totally sure? Former more likely- still no sign of agreement on caretaker PM
And these are from the BBC’s Berlin correspondent, Jenny Hill.
Worth bearing in mind the following when looking at No 10’s interpretation of Merkel / Johnson call. 1. This confrontational language / style is unusual for Merkel 2. Germany - more than most - has been careful to avoid leaks / statements which wld inflame tensions between UK&EU
3. My understanding is that German govt still ready to work to find solution not least because....4. Germany doesn’t want no deal. Met president of German exporters assoc earlier - they are horrified by prospect
Continue reading...Johnson says US diplomat’s wife should lose immunity after teenager’s death
PM to appeal to Donald Trump if Anne Sacoolas fails to return to UK over fatal traffic collision
Boris Johnson will personally appeal to Donald Trump if the US continues to refuse to lift the diplomatic immunity it has granted to a US diplomat’s wife who is accused of killing a 19-year-old motorcyclist in a traffic collision.
Anne Sacoolas, who is married to a US communications official, left the UK last month, prompting widespread anger in Britain over the use of diplomatic immunity to flee potential charges of causing death by dangerous driving.
Continue reading...Revealed: the EU’s point-by-point rejection of Johnson’s Brexit plan
Exclusive: Leaked papers obtained by the Guardian show extent of fundamental objections Brussels has raised
The European Union’s full devastating point-by-point rejection of Boris Johnson’s Brexit proposals for the Irish border has been revealed in documents obtained by the Guardian.
Leaked documents lay bare the scale of the multiple faults highlighted to David Frost, the prime minister’s chief negotiator, during the recent talks.
Continue reading...‘It’s like a death sentence’: retired Britons in EU face loss of healthcare
Reciprocal scheme in which NHS reimburses cost of treatment will cease under a no-deal Brexit
Britons with serious, sometimes terminal, illnesses who live in the EU say they have no certainty about how or even whether their healthcare costs will be covered after a no-deal Brexit and are suffering a “living nightmare” of anxiety and despair.
“It’s like a death sentence,” said Denise Abel, who moved to Italy in 2012. “It’s all you think about. I feel abandoned, betrayed and furious. There are no words for the rage I feel. We’re the collateral damage in the government’s war with the EU.”
Continue reading...Macron gives Johnson until end of week to overhaul Brexit plan
French president’s insistence that UK should give way raises chances of talks imploding
The French president has given Boris Johnson until the end of the week to fundamentally revise his Brexit plan, in a move that increases the chances of the negotiations imploding within days.
The UK proposals tabled last week are not regarded in Brussels as being a basis for a deal and Emmanuel Macron emphasised it was up to the UK to think again before an upcoming EU summit.
Continue reading...Brexit secretary hints UK could rethink DUP veto on deal
Stephen Barclay also says government willing to discuss detail of customs proposals
The Brexit secretary has hinted that the government could amend its proposal to give the Democratic Unionist party an effective veto over its plan for an alternative to the Irish backstop
With EU leaders not willing to accept the UK’s ideas and talks between the two sides suspended over the weekend when Boris Johnson had been hoping to intensify them, Stephen Barclay said on Sunday that the government would be willing to discuss changes to the mechanism designed to ensure the new arrangements receive political approval in Northern Ireland.
Continue reading...EU dismisses weekend talks leaving Johnson’s Brexit plan hanging by a thread
Sources say PM’s insistence on Ireland customs border means there is no basis for discussions
Boris Johnson’s Brexit plans look to be falling apart as the European commission said there are no grounds to accept a request from the UK for intensive weekend negotiations two weeks before an EU summit.
EU sources said there was no basis for such discussions, given the British prime minister’s insistence on there being a customs border on the island of Ireland.
Continue reading...Johnson faces new constitutional crisis as Brexit talks grind to a halt
It appears increasingly unlikely PM will hit deadline for deal laid down in Benn act
Boris Johnson is careering towards a fresh constitutional crisis, after insisting there will be “no delay” to Brexit just hours after government lawyers promised in a court in Scotland that he would obey the law and request an extension if he failed to clinch a deal within a fortnight.
The prime minister tweeted that there must be “new deal or no deal – but no delay”, echoing the words he used in his party conference speech in Manchester on Wednesday.
Continue reading...EU calls on Boris Johnson to publish Brexit plan in full
Ireland’s Leo Varadkar says PM’s pledge of no hard border contradicts written proposal
Jean-Claude Juncker has called on the British government to publish its Brexit plan in full after Boris Johnson was accused by Ireland’s prime minister of misleading parliament over the impact on the Irish border.
The move came on a dramatic day during which Johnson’s hopes of securing a deal by the time of a crunch summit appeared to unravel:
Continue reading...EU parliament: Boris Johnson Brexit plan not remotely acceptable
Leading MEP says it is ‘nearly impossible’ to see how Irish border plan can be basis of deal
The European parliament has told Boris Johnson that his proposals for the Irish border do not “even remotely” amount to an acceptable deal for the EU, in comments echoed by Ireland’s prime minister.
The committee of MEPs representing the parliament’s views on Brexit said the prime minister’s proposals could not form the basis for an agreement, describing them as a “last-minute” effort. The European parliament will have a veto on any withdrawal agreement.
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