Brexit news: Farage hit by milkshake in Newcastle as Tories jockey for position in race to replace May
Conservative leadership race continues as health secretary refuses to rule out bid
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Your support makes all the difference.Nigel Farage has been attacked with a milkshake during a campaign stop in Newcastle. The Brexit Party leader was furious with his security team and later said that "normal campaigning is becoming impossible".
It came as Theresa May was set to make a last-ditch offer to MPs in a fourth attempt to win support for her Brexit deal, even as the race to replace her as Conservative leader continues. She will enter discussions with senior ministers after cross-party talks with Labour broke down last week.
Her plan has yet to be finalised, but it is understood to include additional protection on workers’ rights and the environment, as well as clarification of how the UK will seek to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. There is scepticism throughout Westminster about its chances of passing.
But the PM suffered a blow when the EU Commission said it would not revisit the withdrawal agreement.
It came as the Liberal Democrats warned that British consumers could face a greater risk of exploitation after Brexit if the UK loses the EU's clout to fine multinational companies.
New analysis by the party shows 44 companies have been fined a total of €13.8bn (£12.1bn) by the European Commission since May 2017, for offences that increase prices and reduce choice for consumers, such as operating cartels, abusing market dominance and misleading competition authorities.
And away from Brexit, the new defence secretary, Penny Mordaunt, was forced to order an urgent review of a secret policy under fire for allowing ministers to share intelligence with allies even if there is a risk of torture.
See below how we covered the day's events live
Gordon Brown has used a speech at a campaign event in Glasgow to criticise Nigel Farage and the Brexit Party.
"The Brexit Party that has been formed is not a party, it is a company," the former prime minister said.
"You pay money not to become a supporter, but to become a member. This is not a party in the ordinary sense, it is a private company."
Mr Brown has written to the Electoral Commission, requesting an investigation into the Brexit Party's source of funding.
Mr Farage has called the suggestion that the party may be receiving foreign donations an "absolutely disgusting smear".
Heidi Allen, the leader of Change UK, has applied for an emergency debate to be held on revoking Article 50.
John Bercow, speaker of the House of Commons, will hear the application later today, according to the Labour Whips' twitter account.
A second referendum on Brexit is now the "most likely outcome", according to shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth.
"I think it probably is - because parliament is deadlocked," the Leicester South MP said according to The Independent's deputy political editor.
Jeremy Hunt has said that he would never advocate a no-deal Brexit.
The foreign secretary said leaving the EU without a deal would be immensely disruptive economically but that options could not be taken off the table during a negotiation.
He also declined to say whether he would run for the Conservative Party leadership, as the race to replace Theresa May intensifies.
NEW: Nigel Farage has been hit by a milkshake while campaigning in Newcastle. Here is our full story.
Conservative MP Nicholas Soames has joked that he too will run for leader, as the race to replace Theresa May intensifies.
The Mid Sussex MP belongs to the Tory Party's One Nation caucus of Conservatives, which will meet in parliament on Monday night.
The group published a letter in The Guardian yesterday claiming that the Conservative Party risked being overtaken "by a divisive and populist movement".
The caucus is viewed as an attempt to prevent a hard Brexiteer from orchestrating a no-deal Brexit, though Mr Soames told the BBC's Politics Live programme that "everyone now claims to be a One Nation Conservative - from the lunatic fringe...to the centre."
Nigel Farage has responded to having a milkshake thrown at him.
The Brexit Party leader was visibly and audibly furious with his security detail, and was captured on video asking them: "How did you not stop that?"
The man who apparently threw the drink said it was a fairly high-end treat - a banana and salted caramel milkshake from Five Guys, costing £5.25.
Mr Farage's response is below.
Regarding Jeremy Hunt's no-deal Brexit comments in Geneva earlier today...
He said: "I would never advocate a no-deal Brexit, I think it would be immensely disruptive economically. And the truth is, no one quite knows what would happen in that scenario. But I think in a negotiation, you can't take these options off the table."
Mr Hunt's previous statements have allowed him to took tough and suggest that the UK could walk away from the EU if it doesn't get its way, but he has not come out full-strength in favour of no deal as hardline Brexiteers have done.
He has previously said that "Britain would survive and prosper without a deal". And asked if Theresa May's successor would embrace a no-deal option, he said last week: "I think it is very difficult ... to get a successful outcome to a negotiation if the other side thinks you will never walk away."
In a blow for Theresa May the EU Commission has said it will not make changes to the withdrawal agreement, after she claimed MPs would get a vote on a new, better deal in June.
Ms May plans a fourth Brexit deal vote in the same week Donald Trump is due to visit the UK, amid commemorations of the 75th anniversary of D-Day.
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