Theresa May tells MPs to 'hold their nerve' and insists Brexit deal close amid leadership threats
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has told MPs they must "hold their nerve" as she attempted to quell a growing rebellion on her own backbenches.
The prime minister insisted a Brexit deal is 95 per cent complete as she delivered a Commons update on the state of negotiations.
She faced a number of probing questions from Tory Eurosceptics over suggestions the transition period could be extended, while MPs on both sides of the Commons demanded the public be given a final say on whatever Brexit deal Ms May brings back from Brussels.
The prime minister told MPs: "The Brexit talks are not about my interests. They are about the national interest – and the interests of the whole of our United Kingdom.
"Serving our national interest will demand that we hold our nerve through these last stages of the negotiations, the hardest part of all."
The statement came amid intense speculation over the prime minister's future, with reports suggesting a leadership challenge could be imminent.
Attempting to ward off the threat, Ms May told MPs that "important progress" had been made since last month's fractious EU summit in Salzburg, including on issues including security, transport and services.
But she admitted that disagreements over a customs backstop were proving to be a "significant" obstacle.
The prime minister repeated her insistence that the UK would not accept a backstop that would see Northern Ireland, but not the rest of the UK, stay in the customs union.
Earlier in the day, Downing Street saw off one potential rebellion when Steve Baker, a leading Brexiteer, agreed to withdraw amendments he had tabled to the Northern Ireland Bill, which is set to be voted on on Wednesday.
The amendments, which were backed by the DUP and dozens of Tory MPs, would have made it illegal for Northern Ireland to have different customs arrangements to the rest of the UK - thus binding Ms May's hands in negotiations with the EU.
Brussels is insisting that this option must be part of the Brexit deal, in case proposals for a UK-wide backstop cannot be agreed in time.
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Chris Grayling has attempted to play down divisions at the top of the government over Brexit as he insisted his colleagues in the cabinet are "not a set of clones".
And responding to increased speculation of an immediate threat to the PM's leadership, the transport secretary said MPs seeking a vote of confidence in the PM risk seeing Britain leave the EU without a deal.
The cabinet minister, who ran Mrs May's leadership campaign in 2016, appealed for calm as opponents of the PM ramped up their threats to remove her from office if she does not alter course on Brexit.
Asked about a possible no-confidence vote, Mr Grayling told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This is really a moment for calm, level heads.
"We have got to get through the last bit of negotiation. There will be a vote in Parliament that follows.
"The reality is that, if the deal on offer is something that can't get through Parliament, we will end up in a no-deal situation, so it is in everyone's interest, the European Union and us, to make sure that what we agree is something that both sides can accept."
This is from the Press Association on a letter sent by Commons staff in the wake of a damning report, detailing bullying and harassment on the parliamentary estate.
MPs should be barred from determining the outcome of bullying or sexual harassment claims made against their Commons colleagues, Westminster officials have said.
In an "unprecedented" letter, dozens of serving and former clerks and other officials - along with several MPs - called for the recommendations of an inquiry into Westminster's bullying culture to be adopted in full.
The officials said that, as well as MPs being stripped of a role in determining allegations about colleagues, the complaints procedures should also be amended so historic claims can be investigated.
The letter comes after High Court judge Dame Laura Cox lifted the lid on a toxic environment in Westminster, which included staff having their bottoms and breasts touched in an atmosphere fuelled by ready access to alcohol.
Her report found that a culture of "deference, subservience, acquiescence and silence" had allowed the mistreatment of staff in the House of Commons to thrive.
The report heaped pressure on Commons Speaker John Bercow, who has himself been the subject of bullying allegations, which he denies.
In their letter to the ruling House of Commons Commission, the former officials said "we have personally experienced, or seen first-hand, bullying or harassment by Members of Parliament left to go unchallenged.
"Dame Laura Cox's report has exposed Westminster's open secret - a minority of parliamentarians have been allowed to get away with this behaviour for years."
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