MPs vote in favour of extending same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland by 383 to 73 – live news

Rolling coverage of the day’s political news, including the row over the UK ambassador’s leaked memos and latest on Tory leadership contest

Jeremy Hunt, the underdog in the Tory leadership contest, has told President Trump on Twitter his comments about Theresa May “disrespectful and wrong”.

1/2 @realDonaldTrump friends speak frankly so I will: these comments are disrespectful and wrong to our Prime Minister and my country. Your diplomats give their private opinions to @SecPompeo and so do ours! You said the UK/US alliance was the greatest in history and I agree... https://t.co/hNeBWmyyVN

2/2...but allies need to treat each other with respect as @theresa_may has always done with you. Ambassadors are appointed by the UK government and if I become PM our Ambassador stays.

MPs have voted to introduce same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland, unless the power-sharing executive is revived by 21 October, by 383 votes to 73 - a majority of 310.

Continue reading...

Trump lashes out at ‘foolish’ May as crisis over ambassador grows

US commerce secretary pulls out of trade talks as president calls envoy ‘very stupid’

Transatlantic tensions over the British ambassador’s leaked criticisms of Donald Trump have grown into a diplomatic crisis after the US president attacked Sir Kim Darroch as “a pompous fool” and his commerce secretary postponed planned trade talks with Liam Fox.

A day after Trump said he would no longer deal with Darroch following the release of UK diplomatic memos calling him “incompetent”, “inept” and “insecure”, he used his Twitter feed to attack the diplomat, who he described as “wacky” and “very stupid”.

Continue reading...

Chinese ambassador accuses Jeremy Hunt of ‘cold war mentality’

Foreign secretary refused to clarify Britain’s stance in row over Hong Kong protests

China’s ambassador to the UK has accused the UK’s foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, of having a “cold war mentality” in his approach to the diplomatic row over Hong Kong.

Liu Xiaoming criticised the Conservative leadership candidate for his stance of “strategic ambiguity” on the possibility of sanctions against China over the crackdown on the ongoing protests in Hong Kong.

Continue reading...

China looks at Britain and sees only weakness and hypocrisy | Simon Tisdall

Jeremy Hunt’s support for the Hong Kong protests has released old resentments long suppressed

Last week’s sudden outbreak of verbal hostilities with China, triggered by violent clashes in Hong Kong, provided a disturbing glimpse of post-Brexit Britain’s isolated and impotent future in a world of more muscular adversaries. It also underlined a dilemma facing all the western democracies in their dealings with Beijing: what matters most – liberal values or money-making?

Like bullies sensing weakness, Chinese officials let rip after Britain dared defend the demonstrators’ right to protest against the erosion of Hong Kong’s freedoms. The row released tensions largely suppressed since the former colony was handed back in 1997. The depth of China’s pent-up fury was cautionary.

Continue reading...

Johnson pledges to make all immigrants learn English

Tory leadership contender says English is not first language in ‘too many parts of our country’

Boris Johnson has said there are “too many parts of our country” where English is not spoken as a first language and that he would require all immigrants to Britain to learn English.

At a hustings event for the Conservative leadership race in Darlington on Friday, the former mayor of London praised the capital’s diversity but suggested some communities were not doing enough to integrate into society.

Continue reading...

Brexit: Hammond warns Johnson and Hunt that parliament will block no deal – live news

Follow the day’s political developments, including the latest on the Conservative leadership race as 160,000 Tory members begin voting

Boris Johnson has apologised for offending Scots, while condemning the SNP’s record in government and insisting that a no-deal Brexit is “extremely unlikely” in an interview in the Press and Journal.

Asked about a series of magazine articles in which he described being a Scottish MP as a “political disability” and said that “government by a Scot is just not conceivable”, Johnson replied:

“Of course I am sorry if people take offence at distorted quotations from old newspaper articles – but one of the things I want to make clear is that Conservatives must reach out beyond the Westminster bubble and that means not just speaking in waffle and jargon”.

Boris Johnson has been shearing sheep in North Yorkshire before the hustings in Darlington today.

Good luck @BorisJohnson #BackBoris pic.twitter.com/2dqd2FRCbK

Our house, two Tory members voted for Boris today ... #backboris pic.twitter.com/2mf5zeM0i9

Continue reading...

Chinese ambassador lambasts British ‘interference’ in Hong Kong – video

China’s ambassador to the UK has warned that Britain’s approach to the Hong Kong protests has damaged the relationship between the two countries. Liu Xiaoming has been summoned for a dressing down from the head of the UK’s diplomatic service, Sir Simon McDonald, over the spat. ‘The fundamental principles guiding our two countries is mutual respect, non-interference into internal affairs,’ Liu said.

Continue reading...

Hong Kong crisis could not have come at a worse time for the UK

Politics at home and spreading anti-China sentiment in US mean Britain has limited options in how it responds

The foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, will be cursing his timing about Hong Kong. Faced with growing criticism from human rights groups over the UK’s muted response to the treatment of protesters in its former colony, he decided last Tuesday to take two decisive steps: to call for an independent inquiry into the police handling of demonstrations on 12 June and to suspend export licences for crowd control equipment that could be used in future against protesters.

A statement promising unwavering commitment was also issued by the Foreign Office on the eve of demonstrations held on Monday to coincide with the 22nd anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson says no-deal Brexit claims ‘wildly overdone’ as Hammond says it would cost Treasury £90bn – live news

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen

Boris Johnson has been tweeting from Belfast.

Fantastic to be here in Northern Ireland speaking to our Conservative & Unionist family. I will never accept a deal that seeks to bind us in the EU’s customs union forever, or which divides our United Kingdom. In everything I do as PM, I will strengthen our union of four nations. pic.twitter.com/hI3QLkuxrw

And this is what Boris Johnson said at the Belfast hustings about a no-deal Brexit. (See 12.58pm.) He called it at one point a WTO Brexit (which is what Nigel Farage calls no-deal.) Johnson said:

I think we should be very positive about Brexit, and we should not be terrified of a no-deal Brexit. We should not be terrified of coming out on WTO terms.

We will make sure we look after the agricultural interest ... whatever is necessary to protect farmers. We will make sure that just-in-time supply chains are protected, and I think a lot of the negativity about a WTO Brexit has been wildly over-done.

Continue reading...

Tory leadership: Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt at Exeter hustings – live news

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the G20 summit and Tory leadership contest

On Iran, Mr Johnson said: “We need to very vigilant about Iran and that government.

“They are bent on all sorts of mischief in the region. One of the areas that Donald Trump talks sense, and there are many areas, it is right to work with the Americans and Europeans friends to constrain Iran in the region.

Boris Johnson said that stamp duty land tax in London was causing “huge problems” amid reports he is pondering abolishing the levy on homes worth less than £500,000 and reversing the stamp duty increases on more expensive homes.

On reports that he called the French “turds” in a BBC documentary aired last year that was cut, he responded “I have no recollection of this comment”.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson: chances of no-deal Brexit are ‘a million-to-one against’

Tory leadership frontrunner’s claim comes one day after he said UK will leave EU ‘come what may, do or die’

Boris Johnson has said the chances of a no-deal Brexit are a “million-to-one against”, despite promising to leave on 31 October whether or not he has managed to strike a new agreement with the European Union.

Johnson, the frontrunner to be prime minister, told a hustings that the chances of a no-deal Brexit were vanishingly small, as he believed there was a mood in the EU and among MPs to pass a new Brexit deal.

Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt says Boris Johnson can’t be trusted on Brexit promises

Foreign secretary says Conservative leadership rival cannot fulfil promises

Jeremy Hunt has suggested there is “no trust” in Boris Johnson to fulfil his promises on Brexit, telling the BBC he believes he has the better personality to be prime minister.

Speaking after a war of words with his Conservative leadership rival, whom Hunt branded a coward for turning down a debate with him on Sky News on Tuesday night, Hunt said 31 October was a “fake deadline” and could lead to a snap general election.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson begins media blitz but refuses to discuss family life

Tory leadership frontrunner has faced mounting criticism that he has been dodging public scrutiny

Boris Johnson broke cover on Monday night, vowing he would never reveal the events that led to the police being called to the home of his partner Carrie Symonds last week, after neighbours reported a loud row between the couple.

Amid mounting criticism that the frontrunner in the Conservative leadership campaign has been dodging public scrutiny, Johnson is now understood to be rolling out a “media blitz” for the coming days, beginning with five closely controlled events on Tuesday, in an attempt to defy accusations that he is in hiding.

Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt piles pressure on Boris Johnson to explain police visit

Tory leadership candidate says his rival ‘needs to show he can answer difficult questions’

Jeremy Hunt has joined calls for Boris Johnson to explain why police were called to his home after an argument with his partner by warning that his Conservative leadership rival “needs to show he can answer difficult questions”.

The foreign secretary followed cabinet ministers, backbenchers and a major party donor in demanding that the frontrunner to succeed Theresa May speak out about the loud, late-night altercation with his partner, Carrie Symonds, which was heard by several neighbours.

Continue reading...

Tory faithful trust Johnson more than Hunt, says poll

Conservative voters regard the favourite as better at making decisions and negotiation

Boris Johnson is more trusted by Tory members to make big decisions and negotiate with the EU than Jeremy Hunt – as well as being regarded as more competent than the current foreign secretary – according to the latest Opinium poll for The Observer.

The findings reinforce Johnson’s position as the strong favourite to succeed Theresa May when Tory party members vote on who should be the next prime minister in the coming weeks. Last week Conservative MPs voted to send Johnson and Hunt into the final round of the contest.

Continue reading...

Jeremy Hunt and Boris Johnson are final two in Tory leadership race

Tory members now get chance to decide between two as Michael Gove is eliminated

Jeremy Hunt will go head to head with Boris Johnson in the race to be Britain’s next prime minister, after beating Michael Gove by just two votes in the fifth and final round of voting by Conservative MPs.

Johnson won 160 votes against 77 for Hunt and 75 for Gove. Johnson and Hunt’s names will now go forward to the Tory membership of around 140,000 – with Johnson the overwhelming favourite to take possession of the keys to 10 Downing Street next month.

Continue reading...

Tory leadership race: Stewart out as Johnson extends lead

MPs suggest Johnson backers lent previous votes to Stewart to eliminate Brexiter rival Raab

Rory Stewart has been ousted from the Conservative leadership contest after losing 10 votes since the last round, sparking MPs’ speculation that Boris Johnson’s operatives may have previously pushed fellow supporters to vote for the outsider to help eliminate his Brexiter rival Dominic Raab.

Related: Rory Stewart knocked out of Tory leadership contest in third round - live news

Continue reading...

Tory leadership: Boris Johnson denounced as ‘racist’ by SNP at PMQs – live news

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the third round of voting in the Tory leadership contest and Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs

The SNP’s Neil Gray say in-work poverty has risen dramatically. Isn’t that May’s legacy?

May says the relative poverty has gone up because pensioners are better off. Gray may want to see pensioners worse off, but she doesn’t.

Julian Lewis, a Conservative, asks what May feels about the principle of bringing a dying soldier to court in Northern Ireland on the basis of no new evidence.

May says no one wants to see cases like this coming to court. But previous investigations have not been found to be lawful. She says she wants to see terrorist being properly brought to justice.

Continue reading...

Tory leadership: Johnson, Hunt, Gove, Stewart, Javid through, as Raab eliminated – live news

Second round of voting in the Tory leadership contest, plus Boris Johnson and other candidates take part in BBC hustings

Here is more on Nicola Sturgeon from my colleague Severin Carrell.

@NicolaSturgeon says @BorisJohnson asked her recently (paraphrasing) “So Nicola: full fiscal autonomy. Does that buy you guys off?” “I’m going to make that the starting point of our negotiations should he become prime minister” @reformscotland #devo20

Nicola Sturgeon has said that Boris Johnson’s “almost certain” election as the next Conservative leader has proven how sharply Scotland is now diverging from the rest of the UK, increasing the case for independence.

In a speech to mark 20 years since devolution, the first minister said Johnson’s apparent relish for a no-deal Brexit, and his “gratuitously offensive” opinions about women and minorities are in stark contrast to Scotland’s open, diverse and tolerant politics.

It is surely deeply concerning that the Conservative party is even contemplating putting into the office of prime minister someone whose tenure as foreign secretary was risible, lacking in any seriousness of purpose or basic competence and who, over the years, has gratuitously offended so many, from gay people, to Africans, Muslim women and many others.

But while that, for now, is a matter for the Tories it does further illustrate the different political trajectories of Scotland and other parts of the UK. And it raises the more fundamental question of whether the UK and therefore devolution, in its current form is capable of accommodating those differences.

Next up in the @reformscotland Devolution at 20 conversations is First Minister @NicolaSturgeon pic.twitter.com/SulPJWrabM

Continue reading...

Tory leadership candidates take part in press gallery hustings but Johnson stays away – live news

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Tory leadership candidates take part in the press gallery hustings

And here’s another story from the hustings, filed by the Press Association.

Tory leadership hopefuls Rory Stewart and Sajid Javid believe they have the required number of supporters to survive Tuesday’s second round of voting.

Stewart managed to secure just 19 votes in the first ballot and Javid had 23 - both short of the 33 required to stay in the race after the second vote.

Here is my colleague Peter Walker’s story about what the Tory election candidates had to say at the press gallery hustings about Donald Trump.

Related: Hunt defends Trump quoting Katie Hopkins in attack on Sadiq Khan

Jeremy Hunt has vigorously defended Donald Trump for quoting the far-right commentator Katie Hopkins in an attack on the London mayor, Sadiq Khan, as Downing Street declined to condemn the US president’s words.

The foreign secretary said that while he would not have used the same words as Trump he would “150% agree” with the overall sentiment.

Continue reading...