Boris Johnson news: UK to pull officials from EU meetings as Merkel rules out PM’s backstop demands

Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson appears keen to resurrect her row with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn after claiming last week he could not command the support of the House to become caretaker PM.

She has tweeted: “Jeremy Corbyn didn’t fight to remain in 2016, and he won’t fight for remain now. He wants to deliver a Labour Brexit, because he is a Brexiteer.”

Lord Rose of Monewden, Conservative peer and former executive chairman of Marks & Spencer, warned of an “interruption of supply” and “shortages” of certain food products in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

“We cannot do everything tomorrow morning and we can’t certainly ever grow in my lifetime the sorts of products that you talked about whether it’s soft fruit, peaches, nectarines, salads, bananas etc in the UK out of season,” said the chair of online retailer Ocado, who also chaired Britain Stronger in Europe during the referendum.

Lord Rose of Monewden said consumers “are going to find their habits are going to have to change because we won’t be able to do everything for them tomorrow that we can do today”.

“Yes, there will be shortages and God help us if we get to the situation where there has to be an incident of rationing, but I can foresee situations where if glitches in the supply chain (happen), that there will be shortages of certain products on certain days.”

Donald Tusk has responded to his letter from Boris Johnson. He is not impressed, suggesting the PM is “not proposing realistic alternatives” to the backstop.

We’re expecting Jeremy Corbyn to make an appearance in the marginal Tory seat of Stevenage today. The Labour leader appears to be gearing up for an election with a strategy aimed at convincing the country to focus on other things besides Brexit.

Here’s our sketch writer Tom Peck’s latest piece.

A spokeswoman for European Commission said the body “shares” European Council president Donald Tusk’s reaction to Boris Johnson’s letter.

Natasha Bertaud said: “We welcome the UK government’s engagement and continued commitment to an orderly withdrawal. We firmly believe this is in the best interests of both the EU and the UK.

“However, we also note that the letter does not provide a legal operational solution to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland.

“It does not set out what any alternative arrangements could be and in fact it recognises that there is no guarantee that such arrangements will be in place by the end of the transitional period.

“Otherwise, as we have said on many occasions, we do stand ready to work constructively with the UK and within our mandate.”

Here’s our Europe correspondent Jon Stone with more on the statements by European Council president Donald Tusk – and the spokeswoman for the European Commission.

Mark Drakeford, Labour’s first minister of Wales, has responded to Boris Johnson’s letter by tweeting: “No-one should be fooled: this is not a serious effort to find a solution to the crisis which threatens to overwhelm us but an attempt to scapegoat the EU.”

Simon Coveney, the deputy prime minister of Ireland, meanwhile, has responded by Donald Tusk’s rejection of Johnson’s plan by tweeting: “This has been the clear and consistent EU position, it remains so.”

A senior Downing Street official has called Donald Tusk’s reaction to Boris Johnson’s letter “sad”, according to the BBC’s Adam Fleming.

Lib Dem MP Sir Ed Davey says the government’s plan to end freedom of movement on day one of a no-deal Brexit will do nothing but harm.

A DUP spokesman said: “It is an unalterable fact that the issue of the backstop needs to be dealt with if we are to see the United Kingdom leave the European Union with a deal.

The Unionist party said that while it recognised the backstop had supporters - especially those “concerned about the impact on North-South relations and trade” - there could be “no disguising” that the backstop would "place barriers between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom”.

“The backstop has at its very heart an anti-democratic foundation where neither political representatives in London nor Belfast could change, or influence, rules made in Brussels to which Northern Ireland would be subjected," said the spokesman.

“Those on all sides who genuinely want to see a deal will recognise that the backstop previously devised does not provide the basis for agreement.”