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As it happenedended1549473987

EU chief Donald Tusk labelled 'devilish, trident wielding, euro maniac' by DUP after extraordinary attack on Brexiteers

Follow live updates from Westminster

Benjamin Kentish
Political Correspondent
,Ashley Cowburn
Wednesday 06 February 2019 08:00 EST
Comments
'Special place in hell' for people who promoted Brexit without a plan, says Donald Tusk

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Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar and European Council president Donald Tusk have said they will “not gamble with peace” over Theresa May‘s demands on the Northern Ireland backstop.

In an extraordinary intervention, Mr Tusk lashed out a Brexiteers in the UK, saying: “I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.”

His comments sparked a furious reactions from Eurosceptics, with the DUP's Sammy Wilson calling Mr Tusk a "devilish, trident wielding, euro maniac".

Shortly afterwards, Labour's Emily Thornberry, standing in for Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions, called for Article 50 to be extended to allow for more time for negotiations with the EU.

As it happened...

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Welcome to today's live coverage from Westminster.

Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 08:40
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Theresa May is in Belfast this morning for meetings with the Northern Irish parties as she attempts to find a solution that will ensure there is no hard border after Brexit.

The prime minister angered Tory Brexiteers yesterday after suggesting that her plan involved changing the current backstop proposal but not replacing it. 

A group of Tory MPs is currently looking at "alternative arrangements" to the backstop but Ms May said she did not expect people to support a withdrawal agreement that did not include some form of insurance policy.

Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 08:55
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Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 09:11
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Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 09:26
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NEWDonald Trump is likely to visit the UK again in December to attend a Nato summit that just just been announced by the organisation's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg.

The US president's last visit, in July, was marred by protests.

Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 09:51
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The Polish Embassy has hit out at Labour after the party included footage of far-right parties in Poland in a video on antisemitism.

The embassy says Poland is "one of the safest countries in Europe for Jews" and is demanding the video is taken down.

Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 10:10
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Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 10:22
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Greg Clark, the business secretary, has suggested to the Commons business committee that he would resign if the government decides to pursue a no-deal Brexit.

He said:

"As long as [getting a deal] remains the policy of the government, I will be a vigorous proponent of that.

But I think it’s obvious to everyone that, if it were ever to be the policy of the government, as a matter of policy, to leave the European Union [without a deal], I think there would be many people on all sides of the House that would regard that as unacceptable."

Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 10:38
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Speaking after meeting Theresa May in Belfast, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Robin Swann said the prime minister had been reluctant to discuss restoring devolution in Northern Ireland.

He said:

"The conversation we were having with the prime minister was initially about Brexit.

We had to drag her to a place were we actually started to talk about how we get these institutions back up and running."

Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 11:03
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My colleague Lizzy Buchan is in Belfast, where Theresa May is holding talks with the Northern Irish parties. It doesn't sound like they are going particularly well...

Benjamin Kentish6 February 2019 11:19

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