Boris Johnson news: PM discusses Brexit with Trump in phone call, after critical date for commons bid to block no-deal revealed
John Bolton arrives in UK as rebel MPs plot against prime minister
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Your support makes all the difference.Rebel MPs are plotting to rewrite the Commons rulebook and rip up parliament’s standing orders in a bid to prevent Boris Johnson from forcing through a no-deal Brexit, The Independent has learnt.
It comes as No 10 pinpoints Monday 9 September as the critical day for a legislative battle with the cross-party campaign to block a no-deal departure.
Shadow home secretary Diane Abbott suggested Labour was gearing up to table a no-confidence motion in the PM.
Green MP Caroline Lucas, meanwhile, apologised after not including any people of colour in her proposed all-female “emergency cabinet”.
The fractured British political scene also played host to John Bolton, the US’ National Security Adviser, who arrived in the UK to meet with British officials.
Speaking following a meeting with Prime Minister Boris Johnson on a visit to London, Mr Bolton said the US could focus on certain sectors like manufacturing and car-making where the two countries may agree, and work out more complicated areas later.
Mr Bolton said US trade negotiators think this is acceptable under World Trade Organisation rules.
Mr Bolton also said issues like security in Iran, and fears over Huawei’s involvement in the UK’s 5G network could wait until after Brexit to be resolved.
A Downing Street statement said: “The Prime Minister joined a meeting at Downing Street today between senior officials and US National Security adviser John Bolton.
“They discussed the close UK-US trading relationship and our shared commitment to an ambitious free trade agreement once the UK leaves the EU.
“They also spoke about Brexit and a range of other issues – including Iran, Hong Kong and 5G.”
If you would like to see how the day’s events unfolded, please see what was our live coverage below:
Boris Johnson's government is set to launch a rapid rebuttal unit, to monitor reports regarding Britain’s departure from the EU.
With 80 days to go until the Brexit deadline, the rapid rebuttal unit is being created to respond to “inaccurate media reporting” and “reassure the public” the government is prepared to leave without a deal.
Confirming the move on Monday, a spokesperson for the Cabinet Office told The Independent it would keep a close watch on articles related to Brexit.
“All government departments are responsible for responding to inaccurate media reporting in their areas,” a spokesperson said.
Read more here:
John Bolton has also said the UK's decision to leave the EU will result in a stronger Nato and give the UK a more powerful international voice.
He also met Mark Sedwill, the cabinet secretary.
A senior Trump administration official has claimed the president had wanted to work with Theresa May's government on a trade deal but her government "didn't want do it. This government does. We're very happy about it."
Mr Trump believes that "when it comes to trade negotiations the EU is worse than China, only smaller", the official claimed.
Boris Johnson spoke to Trump on Monday, discussing Brexit, trade and economic issues, his office said. "They discussed global economic issues and trade, and the prime minister updated the president on Brexit," Downing Street said.
"The president expressed his appreciation for the United Kingdom's steadfast partnership in addressing global challenges and looks forward to meeting with [Johnson] personally in the near future," the White House said.
"Labour has demanded an immediate review into grouse shooting amid fears the practice is causing substantial environmental damage," writes Ashley Cowburn.
"The call coincides with the start of the annual four-month-long grouse shooting season on Monday – referred to as the “Glorious Twelfth”, or “Inglorious Twelfth” by animal rights activists.
"An estimated 700,000 grouse are shot in the UK each year, and the League Against Cruel Sports charity describes it as a “massacre” of the animal."
Read more here:
More from John Bolton, who has claimed the UK and US can avoid discussing contentious issues such as Iran, China and Huawei until after Brexit occurs.
"The message I wanted to convey on Iran, and on some other issues in which I include China, 5G, Huawei, that cluster of issues, is that the President and the US Government fully understands that in the next few days the UK Government has a singular focus on the Brexit issue, so that we are not hoping for anything on these broad and complex questions," he said.
"We just ask that, as issues come up, we resolve them individually and we reserve the time to have a larger conversation on some of these important issues at a moment that is really right for the new government. We just felt we owe them that.
"Obviously we have views on these issues, I think that is appreciated by the new government. They said in particular that looking really from square one on the Huawei issue that they were very concerned about not having any compromise in the security of telecommunications in the 5G space."
He added: "We don't want to put you under pressure on these issues. There will be time enough to talk, that is really all we ask for."
A majority of the British public think Boris Johnson should suspend Parliament in order to push through Brexit, according to a new poll.
A ComRes poll for The Telegraph found 54% of the public agree that the Boris Johnson "needs to deliver Brexit by any means, including suspending Parliament if necessary, in order to prevent MPs from stopping it".
Many MPs have expressed outrage at the idea of "proroguing" Parliament in order to avoid a no-deal scenario being halted by the Commons.
The poll of 2,011 British adults also, however, found 51% of respondents agree that "Brexit should be halted if problems over the Northern Ireland border threaten to split the Union".
According to the latest Com Res poll for The Telegraph, 88 per cent of respondents feel parliament is "out of touch" with the British public, and that 89% feel MPs "ignore the wishes of voters and push their own agendas" on Brexit.
As well as this, the poll found 77 per cent of respondents agree the Queen should "remain above politics and refuse to get involved in Brexit".
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