Boris Johnson news: PM to prorogue parliament again amid EU concern over ‘problematic points’ in new Brexit border plan
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson’s government has now published details of proposals for a withdrawal agreement to take the UK out of the EU by the end of the month, but the European Commission quickly said that “problematic points” remained in the prime minister’s plans.
Emerging after the PM’s conference speech, the proposals drew swift criticism as “problematic” and failing to safeguard the interests of people and traders on the island of Ireland. “A lot of work is needed,” said Michel Barnier, while noting the concrete offer did constitute progress.
Mr Johnson’s plan, which he billed as a compromise for the UK, would mean customs checks on trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic as well as a regulatory control border down the Irish Sea. One manufacturers’ pressure group described the scheme, which would effectively create two borders, as “worse than no deal”.
The PM used his conference speech to say the UK must deliver Brexit because voters feel they’re being “taken for fools”. And attacking parliament, he claimed MPs “would have been voted out of the jungle by now” if politics was a reality TV show.
In the early evening, Downing Street confirmed plans to prorogue parliament again ahead of a new Queen’s Speech on 14 October.
While the Tory conference drew to a close in Manchester, the debate on the domestic violence bill continued in Westminster. Labour’s Rosie Duffield won praise for, and brought her colleagues to tears with, her account of her own experience of coercive control.
Boris Johnson's Brexit plans do not fully meet the objectives of the backstop they propose to eliminate, the Irish government has said.
A statement was released after Leo Varadkar, the Irish PM, spoke with Boris Johnson by phone.
"The Taoiseach said the proposals do not fully meet the agreed objectives of the backstop," the statement said.
"However, he indicated that he would study them in further detail, and would consult with the EU institutions, including the task force and our EU partners.
"The Taoiseach expects to speak with European Council president Donald Tusk, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, and with other EU heads of government over the coming days.
"This will include the Swedish and Danish prime ministers, with whom the Taoiseach has bilateral meetings on Thursday and Friday in their capitals.
"The Taoiseach said he wants to see a deal agreed and ratified, and will continue to work in unity with our EU partners to this end.
"The Taoiseach and the prime minister agreed they would speak again next week."
Spotted this joke and thought it was worth sharing. I'm sure we all need a laugh. Or a grim chuckle, at the very least.
Again stepping slightly away from Brexit...
The Home Office has backtracked on a threat to deport an NHS junior doctor following media coverage of the case, writes yours truly.
Mu-Chun Chiang, 27, who first came to the UK 22 years ago, was told she faced being deported or jailed after she made a small error in a visa application.
She told The Independent it had left her “panicked” and in a “state of shock”. But following widespread coverage in the news media, the Home Office has now granted her leave to remain.
Tearful MPs erupted into a round of applause after a Labour MP delivered an emotionally charged speech about the domestic abuse her former partner subjected her to, writes Maya Oppenheim.
Rosie Duffield, the MP for Canterbury, earned a standing ovation after recounting the abuse she was forced to endure during a debate on the domestic abuse bill in the House of Commons on Wednesday.
Ms Duffield described how her fiancé, who she got engaged to shortly after she was elected for the first time in 2017, subjected her to a campaign of coercive control and became progressively psychologically abusive towards her.
Adding to Boris Johnson's woes, Michel Barnier has said "a lot of work" is needed on his Brexit plan.
He told reporters: "There is progress. But to be frank, a lot of work still needs to be done to reach, to fulfil, the three objectives of the backstop - no border, all-Ireland economy, and protecting the single market.
"That means protecting the consumer, the citizens, and the businesses inside the single market, the 27 member states.
"So now we will continue to work, to work to reach a deal. The no-deal will never be the choice of the EU."
"We don't think that it is really a safeguard," says Guy Verhofstadt of the new plans for the Northern Ireland border.
The European Parliament's Brexit steering group was united in distaste for Boris Johnson's plans, he said.
But he would not be draw on whether Mr Johnson's proposals constituted a basis for negotiations.
Police are seeking new legal powers against protesters after Extinction Rebellion demonstrators brought parts of London to a standstill, writes Lizzie Dearden.
The environmental campaign group is planning to shut down much of Westminster with rallies outside key buildings over two weeks of action starting on Monday.
The Metropolitan Police vowed to arrest an unlimited number of demonstrators if they break protest conditions, despite the “cost” to wider policing in the capital.
Assistant Commissioner Nick Ephgrave has written to the former policing minister, Nick Hurd, asking for a review of protest laws.
Brussels has reacted with "concern" to aspects of Boris Johnson's proposal for the Irish border and warned that it will have to change, writes Jon Stone.
Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker told Mr Johnson in a phone call that the proposal contained "problematic points", while an EU source warned that the bloc's parliament would "never support" the proposals.
Meanwhile Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar told Mr Johnson in a separate phone call that the plans "do not fully meet the objectives of the backstop".
Read the full story below...
A Brexit minister has been criticised for cancelling his appearance before a Scottish parliament committee "at the last minute".
DExEU minister James Duddridge, the undersecretary of state, was due to give evidence to MSPs in Edinburgh on Thursday.
But on Wednesday the Scottish Parliament received a letter from Mr Duddridge explaining he was "no longer able to give evidence to the Committee... as previous expected, due to parliamentary business in Westminster".
But committee convener Joan McAlpine said the move was disrespectful, adding: "It is simply unacceptable to us that with less than a month to go before Brexit, that we have not heard from a UK government minister."
DExEU said Mr Duddridge was "committed to rescheduling his session with the committee".
Boris Johnson’s plan to take the UK out of the European Union at the end of this month would impose two new borders on Northern Ireland, to the horror of local businesses, writes political editor Andrew Woodcock.
The UK proposal to replace the controversial backstop, presented to the EU on Wednesday, would mean customs checks on trade between Northern Ireland and the Republic as well as a regulatory control border down the Irish Sea.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker warned the prime minister that there were “problematic points” in his offer, while the head of the European Parliament’s Brexit steering group Guy Verhofstadt said it was “absolutely not positive” and did not provide the necessary safeguards for Ireland.
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