Boris Johnson news: Ireland government says it ‘cannot possibly’ accept PM's Brexit plan, as he faces fresh Jennifer Arcuri claims
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Your support makes all the difference.Boris Johnson’s government has said the EU must enter 10 days of “intensive discussions” by the weekend, as the PM seeks backing for his Brexit proposal. But European Parliament’s Brexit steering group and the Irish government labelled them unacceptable.
Jean-Claude Juncker spoke to Leo Varadkar about Mr Johnson's latest Brexit proposals on Thursday, and a European Commission statement later reiterated yesterday's immediate response to their release - thanks for this, but it needs work.
"The Withdrawal Agreement must have a legally operational solution now, and cannot be based on untried arrangements that would be left to negotiation during the transition period," the statement added.
Opposition parties also reacted with hostility. Labour warned the proposals put the Good Friday Agreement in jeopardy, while the SNP and Lib Dems claimed they were “designed to fail” and push the country towards a no-deal exit.
Also on Thursday, Mr Johnson was hit by fresh claims over his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri, with a former aide alleging the PM asked for his friend to be included in a trade trip to Israel while he was mayor of London.
In Northern Ireland, the Belfast High Court ruled that the country's abortion restrictions breached the UK's human rights law. Sarah Ewart, who was forced to travel to England to terminate her pregnancy in 2013, brought the case. “It feels like a weight is lifted off my shoulders. It has been a long journey," she said.
Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg has confirmed that the government plans to prorogue parliament on Tuesday, 8 October ahead of a Queen’s Speech on 14 October.
Tory MP Peter Bone wishes Speaker John Bercow “a speedy recovery” from his sore throat.
“The Speaker is clearly suffering,” says Bone, before suggesting Bercow could take a break next week “to protect his health”.
Bercow croaks – he really does sound bad – his response: “The expression dream on springs to mind.”
John Bercow struggles with his voice in Commons
Tom Watson has also been speaking in the Commons – asking digital minister Matt Warman questions about Jennifer Arcuri’s company.
Arcuri, of course, was said to be “close friends” with Boris Johnson when he was Mayor of London.
European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker will speak to Irish premier Leo Varadkar later today. The commission said the phone call follows yesterday’s conversation between Juncker and Boris Johnson on the prime minister’s Brexit plan.
Boris Johnson is in the House. He has begun giving his statement on the government’s Brexit proposals (you can follow live video above).
He says his “constructive and reasonable” proposals represent a compromise. There is no path to a deal without “replacing the so-called backstop”.
Johnson says he’s had some “constructive calls” with EU leaders.
Boris Johnson addresses House of Commons
Boris Johnson says his proposal is “a genuine attempt to bridge the chasm”.
If the EU cannot agree a deal, he says, “then we shall have to leave without an agreement. And we are ready to do so. But that outcome would be a failure of statecraft”.
The PM finishes by saying “get Brexit done”. In truth he’s said nothing new.
Jeremy Corbyn has begun speaking and has also been repeating some of his favourite phrases, dismissing the government’s plan as a “Trump-deal Brexit”.
He ridicules the idea of “two borders” for Northern Ireland.
Corbyn calls the proposals “unworkable” and “neither serious nor credible” and accuses the prime minister of getting ready to “shift the blame” to the EU when they fail.
Jeremy Corbyn speaks in the House of Commons
Jeremy Corbyn says the prime minister knows the plan “won’t be acceptable” and can only conclude it’s a “sham”.
Johnson, sounded much less bombastic today than he did last week, replies by saying he’s “disappointed” by the tone taken by the leader of the opposition.
The “problematic” parts of Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan need to be fixed by the UK rather than the EU, a spokesperson for the European Commission has said.
The spokesperson said it was up to the UK to fix the problems and that Brussels would not be left “holding the bag”.
Our Europe correspondent Jon Stone has the details.
The SNP’s Ian Blackford has begun speaking. He does not think much of the prime minister’s proposals.
“It is a plan designed to fail – another push in the direction of a catastrophic no-deal Brexit.”
“It is a half-baked plan from Dominic Cummings and his Brexit fanatics … It is dead before it even left the podium of the Tory conference.”
He challenges the prime minister to explain whether he plans to break the law, as established by the Benn Act. “Secure an extension or resign,” he says.
The SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford
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