Boris Johnson news: PM faces new grilling on groping claim, as talks on toppling him stall and senior MP expelled from Tory conference

More from Brexit minister James Duddridge’s appearance at the Exiting the European Union Committee session.

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Tony Lloyd said it was now time MPs had “clarity” from ministers as to what the government intended to do to deliver on the Irish border.

He said: “The Good Friday Agreement is far too important for us to put at risk by this fooling around.

“If this were just farce we might all laugh at the high wire tricks of the prime minister.

“This is dangerous, it puts at jeopardy the GFA [Good Friday Agreement], it puts at jeopardy the hard-won gains... this House, this whole country deserves better.”

Independent Justine Greening said: “This House is simply saying what is the plan to deliver what was promised and I don’t understand why the government won’t just get on with it and tell us what their plan is will they?”

Duddridge replied: “To be clear, we have given technical non-papers, the proposal we will give to the Commission shortly.”

Reports suggests there has been a spat at the Tory party conference.

Slightly frayed tempers at the Exiting the European Union Committee session. Labour former minister Pat McFadden asked whether Brexit minister James Duddridge would regard infrastructure a few miles back from the Irish border as incompatible with the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018.

Duddridge replied: “I’m tempted to give a simple answer to a straight question, however, because it does rely on detail I will write to [Mr McFadden] and confirm what I think is the bleeding obvious if he listened to what was said.”

SNP Brexit spokesman Peter Grant, meanwhile, claimed the minister had “let the cat out of the bag - there isn’t even a detailed proposal on which to negotiate”.

Grant said: “So will they now own up to the fact that there is no detailed proposal, there have been no proper negotiations and the government’s strategy is to look for a no-deal Brexit, but to look for a way of blaming everyone else but themselves for the problem.”

Duddridge said: “I can confirm that plan A is to get a deal and that is what we are working towards, that is why there is so much focus on the proposal which will come shortly.

“It makes no sense to share the detail of the negotiation with the House if it actually makes getting a deal done less likely.”

Part of the Conservative party conference in Manchester was placed in lockdown after what a senior Tory source described as a “bust-up”, writes our correspondent Ben Kentish.

A room close to the media centre remains off limits to journalists after an apparent row in a lounge area.

Journalists were allowed to leave the media centre but were not being allowed back in, although most of the restrictions have now been lifted.

There are suggestions that a Tory MP was involved in a row with a delegate, although this has not yet been confirmed.

A strange day at the Tory party conference just got a little stranger.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar has been talking about reports of “customs clearance zones”. He said he has not seen any of the UK’s “non-paper” proposals for exiting the EU.

“I’m conscious when answering your question that I am talking about non-papers that I haven’t seen,” he said during leaders’ questions.

“I was aware of their existence, and it was public knowledge in the last week or two, that the UK provided non-papers to the EU taskforce on the basis of confidentiality and not to be shared with member states.

“I very much welcome Boris Johnson’s words today when he disowned the non-papers, had he not, in my view, it would be hard evidence of bad faith by the UK government.”

“The UK government promised no hard border or associated controls or checks and we expect British government to honour that promise made in the Withdrawal Agreement,” Varadkar added.

“People here don’t want a customs border between north and south and no British government should seek to impose customs posts against the will of the people on the island of Ireland.

“I’m interested in what Northern Ireland businesses have to say, in what retailers say, the UK has not been listening to businesses, the freight trade association say it contradicts all their advice to the government, Manufacturing NI rejected them out of hand.

“I would ask anyone to listen to the voices of Northern Ireland, from businesses to farmers, to people, who are saying no to customs posts, and we are saying no too.”

Rob Oxley, the man seen handing Boris Johnson his coffee if this now widely-shared clip, has just seen buying a reusable coffee cup at the party’s merchandise stand, according to The Telegraph.

The aide on Johnson’s right can be heard saying “no disposable cups” before snatching it away from the PM.

More on the “bust-up” at the Conservative party conference this afternoon.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “At around 1.45pm on Tuesday 1 October 2019, an attendee to the Conservative Party Conference attempted to enter the International Lounge area of the conference without the relevant pass.  Security staff intervened and resolved the situation without any breach of security occurring.”

We’re still waiting to hear from the party on reports a Tory MP was involved.

Leo Varadkar has had more to say about border issues. In relation to Boris Johnson, whom he met on a recent trip to America, the Irish premier said they did speak about Brexit, but not customs checks.

“He spoke on occasion about there not being checks on the border which raises the obvious question; where would they be? But we didn’t get into detail,” Varadkar said.

“When the government talks about checks we talk about them being a necessity in no deal, if the UK decides to leave without a deal then there will need to be checks at ports and airports and at business level, and that is in the context of no deal, we've never been in the position to sign up to checks.

“It is his [Boris Johnson’s] view that the UK should leave the EU whole and entire, to use his language, to leave the customs union.

“As I explained to him in New York, there is a reason we came up with the deal that we did after two years with Mrs May and what the backstop provides for is a single customs territory.”