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As it happenedended

Brexit - as it happened: Tories turn on 'insolent' Rees-Mogg after Brexiteer threatens open revolt against May

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Lizzy Buchan
Political Correspondent
,Ashley Cowburn
Monday 02 July 2018 11:10 EDT
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What is still needed to complete a deal with the EU?

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Theresa May has been mocked for failing to secure unity within her own cabinet on Brexit as Tory infighting spilled out into the open ahead of a crunch meeting on Friday.

Jeremy Corbyn questioned how Ms May could get a Brexit deal if she could not get her ministers in line, and warned that cabinet infighting was having a "debilitating effect" on jobs and business.

It comes as senior Tories piled in to criticise Jacob Rees-Mogg for "insolence" after the leading Eurosceptic fired off a warning over Ms May's Brexit strategy.

Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the European Research Group of pro-Brexit backbench Tories, said she must deliver the Brexit she promised or risk collapsing the government, ahead of crunch cabinet talks at her Chequers retreat on Friday.

Foreign office minister Alan Duncan accused him of "insolence" towards the prime minister, while Alistair Burt, another FCO minister, tweeted: "Enough. Just tired of this endless threat and counter threat. Why don’t we want the best for the U.K. than for our own ideological cliques?"

His comments also attracted criticism from respected backbenchers, such as health committee chair Sarah Wollaston and Tory grandee Sir Nicholas Soames, who told his Tory colleague to "shut up".

NHS bosses mistakenly disclosed data on 150,000 patients who had objected to the sharing of their information, the government has admitted.

In a written statement to parliament, health minister Jackie Doyle-Price said NHS Digital had recently identified a "supplier defect" in the processing of historical patient objections to the sharing of their confidential health data.

Information on 150,000 "type 2 opt outs" - patients who do not want NHS Digital to share confidential patient information for purposes other than the individual's care - had not been passed to NHS Digital.

As a result, the NHS data body disseminated information on the patients who had previously said they would like to opt out, according to the statement.

The objections had been recorded between March 2015 and June 2018 in some GP practices using a system by healthcare IT company TPP.

Ms Doyle-Price said: "Since being informed of the error by TPP, NHS Digital acted swiftly and it has now been rectified."

She added: "TPP has apologised unreservedly for its role in this matter and has committed to work with NHS Digital so that errors of this nature do not occur again.

"This will ensure that patients' wishes on how their data is used are always respected and acted upon."

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 15:29

Not all of the Tories are busy plotting. Matt Hancock, the culture secretary, has taken time out to make an excellent, slow motion video of him learning to do parkour. 

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 15:40

Tory grandee Ken Clarke is asking an urgent question about torture and rendition, in the wake of a damning intelligence and security committee report.

Here's our story on the report from last week:

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 15:54

Foreign office minister Sir Alan Duncan is speaking for the government.

He admits intelligence services took "too long" to recognise risks and give staff the proper training to deal with the new circumstances they were facing after 9/11.

Sir Alan says the government will give 'careful consideration' to calls for a judge-led inquiry and will update MPs within 60 days.

He said the government does not condone torture under any circumstances and seeks to maintain its reputation as a champion of human rights.

An inquiry overseen by Sir Peter Gibson and intended to be a "short and sharp" probe into the allegations of UK involvement in the rendition and torture of terror suspects post-9/11 was scrapped in 2012 amid criticisms and delays.

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 16:04

Shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry says the report lays bare the sheer scale of the UK's involvement in torture and extraordinary rendition.

We will not have the full truth until we have a full independently-led judicial inquiry, she said, as it will allow those investigating to speak to all relevant witnesses.

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 16:12

The Commons has now moved onto a second urgent question about the fires raging across Saddleworth and Tameside moors, asked by Labour MP Jonathan Reynolds.

He says these are both major incidents and asks why there was no meeting of the government's emergency COBR committee over the weekend. He asks for assurances that military support will continue and that cost will not be an issue in fighting the fire.

Mr Reynolds also warns that they need to prepare for when the rain comes, as the absorption rates of the moors will have been damaged by the fire, meaning there could be a risk of flooding.

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 16:21

Home office minister Nick Hurd, responding for the government, says his message has been 'ask and we will provide' to emergency services. He says the efforts may have to continue for 'some time longer'.

He urges people not to take photographs. 'Don't get in the way' of the fire service, he says.

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 16:27

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 16:30

Earlier, a government minister told Labour to stop using the term 'hostile environment' to refer to the challenges facing the disabled.

Minister Sarah Newton appealed to opposition MPs to "stop saying things which they know are not true" during a heated exchange in the Commons.

Labour's Marsha de Cordova had said: "We know an impact assessment into the social security policies can be carried out because the EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) has done so.

"So is it not the truth that the government won't do this because it is afraid that an impact assessment will confirm what the UN says, what the EHRC says and what disabled people say, this government's policies have created a hostile environment causing grave violations on disabled people?"

Ms Newton responded that it was "simply not the case".

She added: "We have very strong protections for people with disabilities in our country, not least of which is the Equality Act and I make sure that impacts are undertaken on all policies undertaken.

"I honestly ask(ed) all members opposite please do not use this language of hostile environment, it is simply not the case and the very people that need all of our support are put off from seeking it and coming forward and really I would ask them to stop saying things which they know are not true."

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 16:39

Theresa May is now delivering a statement to MPs on her visit to the European Council summit last week.

She starts by talking about migration, which has been a key area of focus for European leaders. Security was also high on her agenda, making a case for a new security partnership with the EU after Brexit.

The growing threat from Russia means the UK has to adapt its defences to the 'new normal,' she said.

She thanked EU for its coordinated response to Salisbury poisonings.

Lizzy Buchan2 July 2018 16:45

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