Brexit

Boris Johnson, the UK’s most senior diplomat, has compared a dead monkey’s head to a Labour backbencher. The foreign secretary was on a visit to a police unit which confiscates wildlife products. He muttered the remark after asking officers what species a trophy monkey was. A police officer suggested a macaque, but Mr Johnson offered […]

Remainer NICK TYRONE is starting to think a hard Brexit might now be the only answer for Britain. It may sound very strange for a Remainer to say that I think hard Brexit has become necessary. But that’s where I think we might now be. Despite a terrible, shambolic set of negotiations so far by […]

Ukip’s new acting leader Gerard Batten has defended his description of Islam as a “death cult” and insisted a “significant minority” of Muslims were extremists who wanted to be martyred. London MEP Mr Batten, who took over at the head of the crisis-hit party after Henry Bolton was ousted yesterday, said Islam “glorifies death”. He […]

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry has dismissed calls for Labour members to have a greater say on the party’s Brexit policy, saying it would be “very difficult” to remain in the single market. More than 16,000 people have emailed Labour over the past five days, urging the party to consult members on Brexit after MPs […]

Most British firms want the UK to remain in the customs union after Brexit, a survey has indicated. The Harvard Kennedy School study was carried out by researchers including former shadow chancellor Ed Balls and involved interviews with more than 80 small and medium-sized firms and trade associations. Mr Balls said: “It is the most […]

Liberal Democrat president SAL BRINTON believes the crisis facing the NHS is being compounded by Brexit and a divided government that can’t deal with our public services falling apart Last Friday on Any Questions Therese Coffey MP was the latest Remain voter and Minister trying to defend Theresa May’s position on Brexit. Like the country, […]

The German government has called on Theresa May to present her squabbling government’s plans about the future relationship between Britain and the EU after it leaves. A spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel said today: “It’s important for us that Britain concretise its plans… time is running out.” Mrs Merkel is meeting with Mrs May in […]

Boris Johnson today fired another salvo at Philip Hammond, claiming it would be “mad” to end up with a Brexit settlement that did not allow the UK to enjoy the “economic freedoms” of leaving the EU. Signalling the need to diverge from EU rules after leaving the bloc, the foreign secretary insisted that the UK […]

Boris Johnson’s keynote Brexit speech should not be taken seriously “given everything he said about that bus”, former Labour minister Yvette Cooper has said. The foreign secretary is expected to insist that leaving the bloc is a cause for hope, not fear, as he sets out his vision for a post-Brexit Britain. To make Brexit […]

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has accused British politicians such as Boris Johnson of talking “total nonsense” when they accuse him of seeking to create a European superstate. His comments came as he answered questions at a press conference in Brussels taking place as the foreign secretary made a high-profile speech on Brexit in London. […]

Chancellor and cabinet remainer Philip Hammond has been dispatched on a Brexit charm offensive, with a brief to assure European counterparts and business leaders that Britain “still cares” about them. The man dubbed “Spreadsheet Phil” for his powder-dry demeanour is visiting European Union members Sweden, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal as part of his tour. […]

Agreement on a transition period to smooth Britain’s exit from the EU is “not a given”, Brussels’ chief Brexit negotiator has warned. After the latest round of talks between officials in Brussels, Michel Barnier said that three “substantial” disagreements remained over plans for the transition, expected to last around two years after the date of […]

Checks at the Irish border will be “unavoidable” under Theresa May’s Brexit plans for the UK to leave the single market and customs union, Michel Barnier has warned. Brussels’ chief Brexit negotiator also told reporters that agreement on a transitional deal after the UK leaves the bloc in March 2019 was “not a given”. After […]

The government’s refusal to commit to publishing a paper on the financial services industry after Brexit has been condemned by the Treasury Select Committee’s chairwoman. Senior Tory Nicky Morgan said “the clock is ticking” for the vital industry and called for a position paper to be published immediately. In a withering response to the Treasury, […]

The Conservative Party faces an “immense challenge” to repair the schism caused by Brexit, former attorney general Dominic Grieve has warned. The former law officer, a ringleader of the rebels who inflicted Theresa May’s first Commons defeat over her Brexit legislation, warned that political parties can “fall apart” if the ties of tribal loyalty break. […]

RICHARD PORRITT with this week’s big stories, including an outlandish Danish immigration plan, why Austria is Europe’s ashtray and France’s least gangsta rapper In light of the latest polling, will Jeremy Corbyn finally wake up to the fact that much of his party doesn’t want Brexit? The youth vote, which has swelled the party’s membership […]

After the opening salvos over the Brexit bill in the House of Lords, the Lib Dem leader there, DICK NEWBY, looks ahead to the next round of battles Of the 190 speeches made during the Withdrawal Bill Second Reading in the Lords, three stood out for me. The first, was an excoriating critique of the […]

Keep resisting, says MITCH BENN. The facts are on our side and soon the majority of people will be too You know what? No personal anecdotes, pithy analogies or weird where-the-hell-is-he-going-with-this pop culture-based pre-amble this week. This week I’m cutting straight to the chase. Brexit has to stop. Not be softened, or ameliorated, or grudgingly […]

Nigel Farage has been attacked after claiming a Brexit transition period under the EU’s proposed terms would create “Vichy Britain” – a reference to the collaborationist regime in France during Nazi occupation. The former Ukip leader tweeted: “Mrs May’s transition period will be a worse form of EU membership during which the bully boys of […]

Theresa May has claimed she will be “robust” in Brexit talks as she dismissed as “noises off” Brussels plans allowing it to sanction the UK during transition. The prime minister’s so-called “war cabinet” of senior ministers is meeting today to attempt to chart a course through some of the most difficult issues in the Brexit […]

Tory MPs have called on the government to scrap its “vassal state” transition deal with the EU and instead purse a “Carlsberg Brexit deal” with the European Free Trade Association. Ministers were urged to opt for the “safe harbour” of EFTA while a more comprehensive free trade deal was thrashed out with the EU. Joining […]

Ireland’s deputy premier has called on the UK Government to drop its red lines and tough talk on its future relationship with the EU. Simon Coveney said a calm and rational debate on the merits of continued membership of extended customs union and single market structures was overdue. Addressing a packed audience at a conference […]

Theresa May’s inner “war cabinet” of senior ministers will meet today to chart a course through some of the most difficult issues in the Brexit process. The Brexit sub-committee meeting comes after it emerged the European Union wants to put in place a method to rapidly curtail the UK’s single market benefits if it breaches […]

The days of nipping over to Calais for a boot-load of bottles are numbered. SIMON WATKINS ​heads over in search of a bargain while he still can ‘The Brits don’t come to Calais for the beaches; the only reason they come here is for the wine,’ declares Simon Delannoy, proprietor of The Calais Wine Superstore. […]

Government departments have been “too slow” to begin practical preparations to get the country ready for Brexit, a parliamentary report has warned. With just 14 months to go, Whitehall has still not faced up to the need to reprioritise its work to be ready for Brexit day in March 2019, including halting other programmes so […]

Businesses’ patience with the Cabinet’s “continued division” on Brexit is “wearing thin” and Theresa May must urgently deliver a clear statement of what the government wants, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said. As ministers in the prime minister’s Brexit “war cabinet” prepared to meet to discuss what they want from the future relationship […]

Ugandans are incredulous that sophisticated Great Britain is in such a state of disarray and disunity, says YASMIN ALIBHAI-BROWN Just got back from Uganda, where I was making a Radio 4 documentary on what has been happening in the country since 1972, when we Asians, who had been there for generations, were ignominiously thrown out […]

Nicola Sturgeon has demanded “urgent and meaningful” discussion with the devolved administrations on the direction of the Brexit negotiations. Scotland’s first minister has written to Theresa May to say the Scottish government must be able to influence the exit objectives ahead of the UK government cabinet sub-committee on the EU exit negotiations. Ms Sturgeon reminded […]