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As it happenedended

Brexit - as it happened: David Davis accuses EU of 'shooting itself in the foot' over security cooperation

All the latest updates from Westminster as they happened

Lizzy Buchan
Political Correspondent
Wednesday 06 June 2018 10:00 EDT
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David Davis wants post-Brexit relationship with Europe that 'recognises the history' and 'stands the test of time'

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David Davis has accused the EU of "shooting itself in the foot to see if the gun works" by weakening security ties with the UK after Brexit.

In a speech in London, the Brexit secretary criticised the European Commission for putting legal precedents ahead of practical considerations, after it emerged that Brussels has threatened to kick Britain out of its Galileo satellite navigation programme, which it helped to fund.

He also revealed the cabinet was still split over the "backstop" proposals, which would keep the whole of the UK in the customs union until a permanent solution is found to the Irish border issue.

It comes as Jeremy Corbyn criticised Theresa May over the government's delay in laying out its Brexit plans in more detail, demanding when the government will publish its white paper on the UK's future relationship with the EU.

Labour is facing its own Brexit troubles as splits emerged over plans to shift its approach to leaving the EU.

Ahead of a Commons showdown on the government's flagship legislation, the Labour leadership has sought to quell pro-EU rebels in the ranks, by tabling a bid for a Norway-style deal where Britain retains full access to the single market.

However critics said the efforts were "nowhere near enough", and called for support for a cross-party amendment from the Lords, which could effectively keep Britain in the single market.

See below for live updates

Welcome to The Independent's politics liveblog, where we will be bringing you all the latest updates from Westminster throughout the day.

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 08:19

Jeremy Corbyn’s latest attempt to unite his party over Brexit has been dismissed by MPs as “nowhere near enough”, as rebels accused him of having “dropped the ball” and warned they will defy his voting instructions.

See full story here:

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 08:44

Sir Keir Starmer has admitted Labour is divided on the issue of whether the UK should remain in the single market, so it would not back the Lords amendment on the issue.

The shadow Brexit secretary said Labour was united on nearly all of the other amendments to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, which returns to the Commons next week.

He told Today: "On nearly all of them, the Labour Party is strong and united and we will all be, or virtually all be, voting together and laying down some really serious challenges to the Government."

Pressed on why the party will not back an amendment on the EEA, he replied: "The difficulty with that, and I think everybody recognises this, is that there are very strong and very different views across the PLP on that particular amendment.

"So, whilst there's unity on all the others and we will all be voting together, on that amendment there are very divided views."

Asked if he was putting party unity before his beliefs about what is right for the country, he replied: "I'm injecting some honesty about where we are in the Labour Party."

Sir Keir said the amendment was "very contentious" and claimed it was a "pretence" that everyone in the party was in the same place on it.

"It really doesn't help," he added.

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 09:03

Pro EU rebel Stephen Kinnock tweets here about why he thinks Labour MPs should defy the leadership next week.

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 09:09

Another story we are leading with today is an exclusive by Shehab Khan on Islamophobia in the Conservative party.

The chairman of the Conservative Party’s own Muslim forum has accused the Tories of failing to root out Islamophobia because they are scared of damaging their own political power.

Story here: 

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 09:19

The European Commission has advised EU businesses to think twice before using parts and components made in Britain, because of Theresa May's decision to take the UK out of the customs union, the Indy's Jon Stone reports.

The advice, which has the potential to seriously harm Britain’s automotive industry, instructs European businesses like car manufacturers to look elsewhere for parts if they want to continue benefiting from EU free trade agreements.

Here's the full story:

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 09:32

TSB will be investigated by the financial watchdog over a recent IT failure at the challenger bank, the FCA confirmed on Wednesday, as chief executive Paul Pester prepares to face another grilling from MPs about what went wrong.

More here:

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 09:54

Theresa May will host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for talks at Number 10 today amid tensions over the future of the Iran nuclear deal.

Donald Trump has already pulled out of the agreement with Tehran and Mr Netanyahu has lobbied for European leaders to follow suit.

Ms May remains committed to the deal, insisting it has helped make the world a safer place by reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions.

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 10:09

A bit confused about the row over the EU (Withdrawal) bill? The flagship legislation returns to the Commons next week for a showdown, where Theresa May will try to overturn 15 Lords defeats in a single day.

John Rentoul has written a handy guide on what to expect.

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 10:30

Labour is too “divided” on staying in the single market to win a crunch Commons vote next week, Keir Starmer has argued – as he defended his own “wrecking” amendment. 

Story here: 

Lizzy Buchan6 June 2018 10:43

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