Boris Johnson news: PM insists he can do new Brexit deal despite admitting EU leaders refusing to ‘change their position’

Boris Johnson has now departed Nicola Sturgeon's official residence in Edinburgh, and was clearly eager to avoid the booing and heckling that greeted him on arrival... 

Boris Johnson has been branded "discourteous and offensive" for failing to contact Ireland's Taoiseach since becoming prime minister.

In recent times, incoming UK prime ministers have placed a call with their Irish counterpart on the first day of assuming office.

But the Conservative leader, five days after arriving at Number 10, has yet to speak to Leo Varadkar amid heightened tensions between the UK and Irish governments over Brexit.

Sinn Fein vice-president Michelle O'Neill raised the matter during a meeting with Northern Ireland's new secretary of state, Julian Smith, at Stormont on Monday. She accused Johnson of "snubbing" Varadkar.

"I would judge that it is highly discourteous that the new  prime minister Boris Johnson is not engaging with the Taoiseach," she said.

"That is highly offensive given the disastrous impact of Brexit on the island of Ireland."

O'Neill, speaking after the meeting, said Smith did not offer an explanation as to why there had been no contact between the premiers.

DUP MP Gavin Robinson has declined to be drawn on the lack of contact between Boris Johnson and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar since the Conservative leader became prime minister.

"I don't think we need to get involved in who is phoning who; why they haven't phoned yet," he said.

"Matters between the British government and the European Union will continue, they will engage in discussions and I have no doubt the prime minister and Taoiseach will discuss as well."

Ulster Unionist leader Robin Swann also downplayed the issue.

He said: "Boris Johnson has just taken over as prime minister of the world's fifth largest economy, he's his own party machinations to deal with on how he goes forward, he's in Scotland at the minute I'm sure he'll make contact with Leo at some point and see where we are actually going with this process," he said.

Nicola Sturgeon says Boris Johnson "has set the UK on an almost inevitable path to a no-deal Brexit", according to STV, which spoke to the Scottish first minister after her meeting with the PM at Bute House earlier.

STV journalist Dan Vevers has tweeted these quotes from Sturgeon:

Boris Johnson stressed he was a "passionate believer" in the union during his meeting with Nicola Sturgeon, according to Downing Street.

Number 10 has just issued this statement on the talks:

The Prime Minister met the First Minister for Scotland Nicola Sturgeon in Edinburgh today.

The Prime Minister said he was a passionate believer in the power of the Union and he would work tirelessly to strengthen the United Kingdom and improve the lives of people right across Scotland.

On Brexit, the Prime Minister said that while the Government's preference is to negotiate a new deal which abolishes the anti-democratic backstop, the UK will be leaving the EU on October 31st come what may.

The PM set out the scale of work under way to prepare for our departure and also offered to hold a JMC(P) (joint ministerial plenary committee) soon so that he can work with the devolved administrations to make sure all corners of the UK are ready to enjoy a bright future outside of the EU.

They also discussed the UK Government's pledge to expand Growth Deals with £300m of new funding. The Prime Minister said he looked forward to working with the Scottish Government to see these deals rolled out to every region of Scotland so that more communities could benefit from the funding.

Conservative MPs have begun throwing their hats in the ring to become the new chairman of the influential Commons Treasury Committee.

The post has attracted both Leave  and Remain supporters, including former education secretary Justine Greening, who is reportedly set to run, and prominent Brexiteer Steve Baker, who tweeted his intention to stand yesterday.

Other MPs who have confirmed they will run include former minister in the Department for International Trade Mark Garnier, plus former Foreign and Commonwealth Office minister and economic secretary to the Treasury, Harriett Baldwin.

Former health and transport minister Stephen Hammond has said he is "seriously considering" standing.

It follows the return of the committee's current chair, Nicky Morgan, to the cabinet as secretary of state for digital, culture, media and sport.

Commons speaker John Bercow last week told MPs they would vote to elect the committee's chair in the second week of the September sitting.

Foreign secretary Dominic Raab this morning claimed BBC Radio 4’s Today programme that  he made it clear to voters during the Brexit referendum campaign that there was a risk the UK could leave the EU without a deal.

But Channel 4's Fact Check team duly set to work, and found no interview where Raab warned explicitly about the possibility of a no-deal Brexit.

The team said it had listened to every Raab interview it could find between February 2016, when the referendum campaign unofficially began, and the vote on 23 June 2016.

It also searched the Vote Leave website, Raab’s personal site, various BBC web pages, online newspaper archives, YouTube and elsewhere.

Raab had also claimed his cabinet colleague Michael Gove issued similar warnings about a no-deal Brexit, but the Fact Check team found none of those either.

They did find, however, Raab saying in March 2016 it would be "suicidal" for Europe to tariffs and that fears of trade barriers were "not remotely credible".

You can read the full analysis of the foreign secretary's claims here.

Boris Johnson's government secretly wants a no-deal Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon has claimed.

The Scottish first minister, who met with the PM today, said Johnson's government was "dangerous" and was "pursuing no-deal strategy, however much they may deny that in public".

Sturgeon said:

After my discussions with Boris Johnson, behind all of the bluff and bluster, this is a government that is dangerous.

I think the path that it is pursuing is a dangerous one for Scotland and for all of the UK.

He says publicly - and he said it to me again today - that he wants a deal with the EU, but there is no clarity whatsoever about how he thinks he can get from the position now where he's taking a very hard line - the Withdrawal Agreement is dead, the backstop is dead.

If I listen to all of that and listen to what's not being said as well as what is being said, I think that this is a government that is pursuing a no-deal strategy, however much they may deny that in public.

I think, if he were in this room right now, he would deny this vehemently, but I think he wants a no-deal Brexit.

That's it for our live politics coverage for today. Thanks for reading.