Government hits back at EU claims it has no fresh plan, saying proposals for Irish border 'clear as day'
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Your support makes all the difference.The government has hit back at EU claims that it has not put forward a fresh Brexit plan, with just days left to secure changes to the Irish backstop ahead of crunch votes next week.
Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, insisted the UK had put forward proposals that were “clear as day”.
It came after French foreign minister Nathalie Loiseau and Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar both claimed the UK was yet to put forward a new proposal.
MPs will vote again on Theresa May's Brexit deal next week, with new concessions on the backstop seen as crucial to securing Tory MPs’ backing for the plan.
As it happened...
Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Tony Lloyd has called for Karen Bradley to resign over her claims that Troubles killings by the security forces were "not crimes".
He said: “Today I wrote to Karen Bradley, asking her to come to the Commons and give a real apology for her comments.
“But following the former Ombudsman’s comments, it’s clear that Karen Bradley does not have sufficient credibility to stay in her post.
“This was not just a gaffe and Bradley did not simply ‘misspeak’. What she said reflected a disturbing pattern, with her and the Prime Minister having made a succession of baseless claims about military personnel being treated unfairly compared to others.
“If Theresa May can’t find a replacement, they must finally tell us what the government is going to do with Northern Irish legacy cases.”
Labour MP Naz Shah has hit out at Andrea Leadsom, the Commons leader, for suggesting that Islamophobia in the UK is an issue for the Foreign Office...
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More criticism from Labour MP Naz Shah of Andrea Leadsom's suggestion that Islamophobia in the UK is a matter for the Foreign Office.
She says:
"I was shocked by what Andrea Leadsom said in response to my genuine call for a debate on Islamophobia.
"To say that British Muslims facing Islamophobia here in the UK is a 'Foreign Office' issue is truly baffling and horrifically alludes to British Muslims as foreigners.
"It just goes to show how out of touch the Tories are with a problem that their politicians and councillors are exacerbating.
"Perhaps she doesn't want a debate as it will expose her party's failing on the problem?
"The Tories have been skirting around this big issue for years and have not addressed the elephant in the room.
"Everyday Muslims face appalling abuse on the streets and online, and it's time things changed. Islamophobia has become normalised, and we need our politicians and society to understand how and why it is so wrong, and that we need to eradicate it in all its forms."
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