Scotland should get independence vote by May 2021 if Brexit going ahead, says Sturgeon – live news

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

Here is the key quote from Sturgeon’s opening statement.

There are some who would like to see a very early referendum, others want that choice to be later.

My job as first minister is to reach a judgment, not simply in my party’s interest but in the national interest.

Asked if she is willing to drop her demand for an independence referendum, Sturgeon says she is genuinely open-minded. If other parties can come forward with another mechanism that will protect Scotland’s interests in the event of Brexit, she will consider that, she says. She stresses that she is “open-minded”.

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Theresa May and Leo Varadkar attend Lyra McKee’s funeral

Political leaders from UK and Ireland are at journalist’s Belfast service

The funeral of Lyra McKee, the journalist shot dead in Derry last week, brought a rare political unity to Northern Ireland on Wednesday.

Theresa May joined dignitaries including the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, the Irish PM, Leo Varadkar, the Irish president, Michael D Higgins, and the Irish minister for foreign affairs, Simon Coveney, at the funeral.

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Greta Thunberg condemns UK’s climate stance in speech to MPs

Teenager who sparked global youth movement hits out at airport expansion and support for fossil fuels

‘You did not act in time’ – Thunberg’s full speech

The UK government’s active support for fossil fuels and airport expansion is “beyond absurd”, Greta Thunberg has told MPs.

The 16-year-old Swedish student, who sparked a global youth-based movement when she began a “climate strike” outside Sweden’s parliament last year, gave a typically blunt speech. She told MPs: “This ongoing irresponsible behaviour will no doubt be remembered in history as one of the greatest failures of humankind.”

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MPs may vote on key Brexit legislation next week

Theresa May considers tabling withdrawal and implementation bill in next 10 days

Theresa May is preparing to give MPs a vote on the key piece of legislation enacting Britain’s exit from the European Union next week, as negotiations with Labour continue.

The prime minister will discuss Brexit with her cabinet colleagues, with government sources suggesting one likely way forward is to table the withdrawal and implementation bill (WAB) in the next 10 days.

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Brexit: cross-party talks to restart as Tories step up efforts to oust May

Chair of 1922 Committee is reportedly planning to tell PM to leave by the end of June

Brexit talks between government ministers and Labour are due to resume on Tuesday amid distinctly limited expectations of a breakthrough, with the political focus likely instead to shift on to renewed Conservative efforts to oust Theresa May from Downing Street.

The executive of the 1922 Committee, which represents Conservative backbenchers, is scheduled to meet on Tuesday, with its chair, Graham Brady, reportedly planning to tell the prime minister she must depart before the end of June.

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Brexiters’ language worsens threats against MPs – Nicky Morgan

Former minister’s comments come as PM faces renewed plots to depose her

Nicky Morgan has blamed the language used by some vehement Conservative Brexiters of helping to inspire threats against MPs, as Theresa May prepares for the return of parliament against a backdrop of renewed plots to depose her.

Amid signs that Tory MPs will be no more united on Brexit when the Commons returns on Tuesday than before the Easter recess, Morgan, the former education secretary, criticised an article by her backbench colleague, William Cash.

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Labour MPs to urge Jeremy Corbyn not to ‘torpedo’ Brexit deal

Second referendum would be ‘divisive but not decisive’, MPs will say in letter to leader

Jeremy Corbyn is to be urged by a group of Labour MPs not to “torpedo” the prospect of a Brexit deal with Theresa May by insisting on a second referendum.

The MPs, including Stephen Kinnock and Gloria De Piero, are set to send the Labour leader a letter early next week setting out their “deep-seated reservations about a second referendum”, which they believe would be “divisive but … not decisive”.

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The Guardian view on Britain and the EU elections: get together to stay together | Editorial

There is a public majority against Brexit. The political parties must cooperate to ensure that its voice is heard in any elections

If they take place, European elections in Britain would ideally serve three complementary purposes. The first would be to widen the national debate about Britain’s relations with Europe. The second would be to ensure the electoral argument has a pro-European outcome. The third would be to send a clear pro-European message from British voters to the EU. All this is not going as well for the pro-European side as it should be.

The political context for EU elections remains healthy for pro-Europeans. Brexit has proved far more difficult than leavers originally claimed. Leavers are very deeply divided. The problems have contributed to some public rethinking. Since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, public opinion has slowly but steadily shifted towards remaining. The current poll of polls on the issue shows a 54%-46% remain lead. A ComRes poll this week has the gap at 58%-42%.

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Tory deregulation agenda stalling Brexit talks, says Corbyn

Labour leader says there is no agreement yet on customs union or workers’ rights

Jeremy Corbyn has said Brexit talks with the government are stalling because of a Tory desire for post-withdrawal deregulation, including as part of a US trade deal.

Corbyn said Labour had been putting forward a robust case for a customs union during the talks over the past week but suggested he feared the two sides would not find common ground.

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Downing Street under pressure to close down Labour talks on Brexit

No 10 scrambles to explore options before possible heavy losses in EU elections

No 10 is feeling the pressure to pull the plug on Brexit talks with Labour and move to an alternative plan, amid warnings that the opposition is in no hurry for a deal before the European elections.

With talks deadlocked and no sign that the government moving on its red lines, neither the Conservatives or Labour want to appear responsible for the breakdown in discussions.

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Brexit talks ‘will stall unless May shifts on customs union’

Sources say prime minister’s red lines remain an obstacle in talks with Labour

Talks between Labour and the government are unlikely to advance much further in the coming week unless Theresa May moves on her red lines over a future customs union, sources close to the talks have suggested.

David Lidington, who is leading the government’s talks with Labour, said a compromise would have to be reached but played down suggestions that a government shift was imminent and added that Labour would also have to move.

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UK ‘deeply regrets’ Amritsar massacre – but no official apology

High commissioner to India marks 100th anniversary of British troops firing on crowd

Britain’s high commissioner to India has laid a wreath to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Amritsar massacre, one of the worst atrocities of Britain’s colonial rule.

On 13 April 1919, British troops fired on thousands of unarmed men, women and children in the northern city of Amritsar. Colonial-era records put the death toll at 379, but Indian figures say the number was closer to 1,000.

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What were Merkel and May laughing about at the EU summit? – video

The summit on Wednesday was off to promising start as Angela Merkel approached Theresa May to share something on her iPad. May burst out laughing with Merkel when she saw what was on the device: a photo montage of the two leaders speaking in their respective parliaments earlier that day. Both were wearing a jacket in the same vivid shade of blue – which could be described as EU flag blue. The European council president, Donald Tusk, and Luxembourg's prime minister, Xavier Bettel, were also amused. One of the council’s most senior officials smiled politely.

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Brexit: France and Germany split as EU leaders debate length of further article 50 extension – live news

Follow all the latest as the prime minister awaits the EU’s decision on a delay to Brexit

This is from the Telegraph’s James Crisp.

Theresa May has left the summit building for dinner. She is expected to return later.

France and Germany are understood to be at loggerheads over both the length of the extension and the conditions that the EU should put on a delay to Brexit.

The German chancellor, Angela Merkel, is arguing that a short extension to 30 June is unlikely to provide enough time for the impasse in Westminster to be broken, and Berlin is seeking an extension until 31 December.

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May signals she would accept EU offer of longer Brexit delay

British PM says UK will still be able to leave by 22 May if withdrawal deal is approved

Theresa May has signalled that she would accept the EU’s likely offer of a lengthy Brexit delay at a summit of leaders as the UK would still be able to leave when the withdrawal agreement is approved.

Arriving in Brussels, the prime minister said it would still possible for Britain to quit by 22 May if the Commons chose to approve her Brexit deal in the coming weeks.

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Brexit: ERG Tories tell Brussels it will regret letting ‘Perfidious Albion’ remain in EU beyond Friday – live news

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May’s talks with Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron, and MPs debating how long the article 50 extension should be

These are from my colleague Angelique Chrisafis in Paris.

Before Macron meets May, Elysee official insists any long extension would need ‘very strict guarantees’ that UK as an exiting state wouldn’t fully take part in or disrupt key decisions on future of EU eg commission head, budget. Would mean regular checks that UK abiding by this

Elysee source on length of possible Brexit extension: ‘we think one year would be too long’

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UK likely to be offered Brexit extension until end of year

EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier fails to convince bloc May has plan to break deadlock

Britain is likely to be offered a final long extension ending on 31 December after the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, failed to convince the bloc’s capitals that Theresa May has a plan to break the Brexit impasse.

A number of member states, most prominently France, along with Slovenia, Greece, Austria and Spain, remain sceptical about a lengthy extension, citing the risks to the EU of Britain behaving badly.

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Brexit: Theresa May’s hopes dashed as EU targets delay of up to a year

Britain’s membership could be extended to March 2020 after PM fails to sell her plan in dash to Paris and Berlin

Theresa May’s request for a short Brexit delay has been torn up, putting the EU on track to instead extend Britain’s membership until 2020.

Despite the prime minister’s desperate dash to Paris and Berlin to convince leaders of her plan to break the Brexit impasse, the European council president, Donald Tusk, signalled EU politicians’ lack of faith in her cross-party talks.

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Brexit: Government sets date for UK participation in EU elections – live news

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

MPs are now debating amendments to Cooper Letwin. A result is expected within an hour or so.

We expect the House of Commons to debate the #CooperLetwin Bill around 9pm for up to an hour, with votes at the end. pic.twitter.com/0leLoH8gZQ

There’s been a split in the hard Brexit-supporting Tory backbench ERG group this evening: The MP, Daniel Kawczynski, has announced his resignation.

There have been recent rumblings of disquiet among the group; some of whom believe others are so determined to deliver the hardest of Brexits that they are actually imperiling the whole project. Kawczynski is one of them.

Have decided to resign from ERG. Despite excellent Chairmanship by @Jacob_Rees_Mogg who has accommodated all views I can no longer be a member of caucas which is preventing WA4 from passing. Hardcore element of ‘Unicorn’ dreamers now actually endangering #Brexit

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