Conservative conference - as it happened: Boris Johnson denounced as 'irrelevant and offensive' from main stage
Your support helps us to tell the story
My recent work focusing on Latino voters in Arizona has shown me how crucial independent journalism is in giving voice to underrepresented communities.
Your support is what allows us to tell these stories, bringing attention to the issues that are often overlooked. Without your contributions, these voices might not be heard.
Every dollar you give helps us continue to shine a light on these critical issues in the run up to the election and beyond
Eric Garcia
Washington Bureau Chief
Boris Johnson has been denounced from the stage of the Conservative Party conference as "irrelevant" and an "offensive person" by Lord Digby Jones for his contentious remarks about businesses.
It comes after the party was hit by a humiliating security gaffe in the official conference app, which allowed members of the public to access the contact details and mobile phone numbers of senior members of the government and prominent journalists.
On Sunday - the first day of the party's annual conference in Birmingham - a sizeable protest also took place in Birmingham as demonstrators demanded a second public vote on the final Brexit deal.
This liveblog has now closed - follow again tomorrow for day two of the Conservative Party conference
David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, is now on Sky News. "Boris specialises in more dramatic language than me, but it's just wrong," Davis says on Theresa May's Chequers plans.
"It's not the right answer. I told her at each stage where I thought we were going wrong - the prime minister at the end of the day is the lead negotiator. It is so far off from what is the right strategy."
He concedes: "I failed to persuade the prime minister".
"You say its six months - that's actually plenty of time. I think it's 80-90 % likely there will be a deal. But we're going to have a very scary few months - all sorts of brinkmanship will go on."
On Theresa May's leadership - and whether she should fight the next election, Davis says: "That's up to her, frankly."
Asked how he would vote in a "no confidence" vote, Davis says: "To keep her in."
On Boris Johnson - and the suggestion to build a bridge to Ireland - Davis is quite brutal about his former colleague in cabinet. He says: "Fantastic ideas that cost a fortune and don't do that much good. Quite a lot of his ideas are good headlines but not good policies"
On the Andrew Marr Show, Tom Watson, the deputy leader of Labour, says his party's six Brexit tests were not plucked out of "thin air".
He says it's impossible to leave the EU while being in the single market.
"Jeremy Corbyn reached out in the conference speech. That was rejected. That's a great tragedy," Watson adds.
Andrew Marr is now interviewing Theresa May on the first day of the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham.
Asked whether the Chequers plan is dead, he says: "No, it isn't."
Are you prepared to alter your plan? "Let's hear what the detailed proposals are. Let's hear what the counter proposals [from the EU] are. Let's hear what the EU's concerns are with the Chequers plan."
"I think we should ambitious Britain - we shouldn't take an off-the-shelf model.
She avoids saying whether she is willing to compromise on her Chequers plan - but doesn't rule out.
"This [Chequers] is challenging for the EU. I accept that. We believe it does not destroy the Single Market and need to have that conversation with them."
Asked about a no-deal, May says she is working towards the "best deal" for the British people. "We will make a success of Brexit, regardless of the outcome of the negotiations.
"My message to the Labour Party is that they should stop playing politics with Brexit," she says.
Asked about the "burning injustices" set out at the beginning of her premiership - she says there is "not a single answer" and there is a "myriad" of issues.
On the Windrush generation, May says she has apologised for what happened to them. "We asked those people to come here - they deserved to be treated better."
This is quite clearly the most uncomfortable part of the interview for May, who, of course, was Home Secretary between 2010-16 and responsible for the hostile environment policies of the department.
She refuses to apologise for the policy itself. "I apologise for the fact that some people who should not have been caught up in that had been caught up."
On rough sleeping, May concedes: "We've seen rough sleeping going up".
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments