Theresa May rules out replacing Irish backstop in EU deal after Brussels trip revealed
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has risked a fresh clash with Tory MPs after saying she is not planning to replace the controversial Northern Ireland backstop.
The prime minister had agreed to consider "alternative arrangements" in a bid to win over Eurosceptic rebels but, speaking in Belfast, suggested she was focused on trying to change the backstop rather than replace it.
It comes after Downing Street confirmed Ms May will travel to Brussels on Thursday to meet European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker in a bid to secure fresh compromises on the backstop, desipte the EU having insisted that it will not reopen negotiations.
As it happened...
Theresa May will give a speech in Belfast at lunchtime, in which she is expected to insist the government will honour the Good Friday Agreement and keep the Northern Ireland border open after Brexit.
Ahead of the speech, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Arlene Foster re-iterated her party's demand that Ms May ditch the controversial backstop part of her Brexit plan.
She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme:
"We will be reiterating our opposition to the current backstop. And the fact that Parliament has now backed that position means that she (Ms May) has a clear mandate to go back to Brussels.
"Parliament's mandate is to replace the backstop. The current backstop, as I have said all along, is toxic to those of us living in Northern Ireland, and indeed for unionists right across the United Kingdom, because it would cause the break-up of the United Kingdom into the medium and longer term."
Asked about whether her position on the backstop was making the prospect of a no-deal Brexit more likely, she replied:
“The intransigence of the European Union and the Republic of Ireland in their attitude they are actually more likely to bring about the very thing they want to avoid.”
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The government spent £45,637 printing copies of Theresa May's withdrawal agreement, new figures have revealed.
A response to a freedom of information request from the BBC showed that 1,300 copies of the 580-page document were printed, with 1,100 being sent to MPs and peers. Many of them remain uncollected.
Speaking in Belfast later today, Theresa May is expected to say:
"I know this is a concerning time for many people here in Northern Ireland.
“But we will find a way to deliver Brexit that honours our commitments to Northern Ireland, that commands broad support across the community in Northern Ireland, and that secures a majority in the Westminster Parliament, which is the best way to deliver for the people of Northern Ireland.
“As we do so, I hope we can also take steps to move towards the restoration of devolution – so that politicians in Northern Ireland can get back to work on the issues that matter to the people they represent.
“For ultimately, the measure of this moment in Northern Ireland’s history must be more than whether we avoid a return to the challenges of the past.
“It must be how, together, we move forwards to shape the opportunities of the future."
Labour MPs have responded angrily after party leaders refused to publish data on how they are tackling allegations of antisemitism
Chris Grayling has said the EU will be to blame if there is a no-deal Brexit.
The transport secretary told the Daily Telegraph:
"We have taken to our Parliament the deal reached in November and our Parliament has said no.
"We want to work with the EU to reach a deal but if they are not prepared to do that – they will have to take responsibility that we are heading towards a no-deal exit.
"If they are not willing to compromise, if they’re not willing to work with us to find common ground – it will be down to them if there is no deal."
Sky News is reporting that Tory Brexiteers are lobbying No 10 to ask Donald Trump to urge the Irish government to back down on the backstop.
They are said to fear that the links between Dublin and the US Congress could threaten a US-UK trade deal if the UK fails to agree to the plan for keeping the Northern Ireland border open.
Dozens of Caribbean nationals are set to be deported to Jamaica on the first government charter flight to the country since the Windrush scandal last year
There will be an urgent question in the Commons later today on the imminent deportation of dozens of immigrants to Jamaica, as revealed by The Independent at the weekend.
It is being asked by Labour MP David Lammy, with home secretary Sajid Javid likely to respond for the government.
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