Boris Johnson news: PM faces new grilling on groping claim, as talks on toppling him stall and senior MP expelled from Tory conference
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Boris Johnson has admitted he cannot remember the lunch at which he is alleged to have groped a female journalist – despite repeatedly denying the incident took place.
It comes as opposition talks to oust the PM if he tries to force through a no-deal Brexit have been plunged into fresh turmoil amid splits over who should lead a temporary government.
And Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has been sent home from the party's annual conference in Manchester after what a Tory spokesperson described as a "totally unacceptable" clash with security staff.
Late in the evening details emerged of Mr Johnson's planned offer to Brussels. In a speech tomorrow he is to say that the EU must "engage" with his proposals or see the UK walk away without a deal.
The plans, reportedly including the offer of a four-year period inside the EU's regulatory framework for Northern Ireland following the end of the transition period in 2021, represent a "reasonable compromise" on his part, the PM is to say.
Mr Johnson's ultimatum will be delivered despite the passing of the Benn Act, which is designed to prevent a no-deal Brexit.
His opponents accused him of being determined to “force an undemocratic and destructive vision of Brexit on the country”.
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A senior Tory MP is understood to have clashed with security at the Conservative Party conference, prompting a lockdown of part of the venue.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown was involved in what a doorman described as a “small misunderstanding” at the International Lounge in the conference centre.
Police said an attendee tried to enter the lounge without the relevant pass, leading security staff to intervene.
It is understood Sir Geoffrey was trying to enter the room with a guest.
The “misunderstanding” led to a lockdown of some areas, including the press room, at the Manchester Central Convention Centre for around 20 minutes.
The Cotswolds MP told the PA news agency: “I’ve got nothing further to say about it. I don’t want to comment on it, really.”
A staff member guarding the door of the International Lounge said the incident was sparked by a disagreement.
Breaking: Tory MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has been asked to leave the party's annual conference in Manchester after what a Tory spokesperson called a "totally unacceptable" clash with security staff. More to follow.
Priti Patel, the home secretary, is currently speaking in the conference hall in Manchester.
She says that ensuring law and order "is central to our DNA as Conservatives".
She continues:
"Giving people the security they need to live their lives as they choose is an essential part of our freedom.
We recognise that freedom and security are not opposites, but equals, and that ensuring people can live their lives free from fear is the essential foundation for a life of liberty.
Because the people posing the threats are ever more callous and the job we ask the police to do is ever more difficult and dangerous.
These are the facts that I never forget."
Labour MPs have heaped pressure on Jeremy Corbyn to resolve Brexit through a referendum before seeking a general election.
Our correspondent Lizzy Buchan has all the details.
Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown sent home from party's annual conference after 'totally unacceptable' clash with security
In the conference hall, Priti Patel has just announced a series of new measures as part of the government's hardline approach to crime.
She says she is taking on gang kingpins, who she says are "exploiting children, forcing them to carry crack cocaine and heroin across rural and coastal communities, threatening them into carrying guns and knives as 'protection' [and] manipulating them into killing innocent people".
She says the government will:
- provide funding to enable more officers to carry tasers
- make £20m available for police tackle "county lines drug gangs...to stop them terrorising our towns and villages and exploiting our children"
- launch a £25m Safer Streets fund for more CCTV and street lighting in crime hotspots.
There was a huge round of applause in the conference hall when Priti Patel mentioned Margaret Thatcher.
She said:
"Margaret Thatcher knew that if you made the British people your compass. If you took time to understand their lives and their priorities, then your direction would always be true.
'My policies', she said, 'are based not on some economics theory, but on things I and millions like me were brought up with: an honest day’s work for an honest day’s pay; live within your means; pay your bills on time; and support the police'.
That advice is as sound today as it was forty years ago.
Support the police we will."
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