UK politics - as it happened: Government makes raft of announcements in final day before MPs' summer holiday on 'taking out the trash day'
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Your support makes all the difference.The government has rushed out 21 written statements on the final day of the parliamentary term, in what has been dubbed "taking out the trash" day for Whitehall departments.
Public sector pay rises for doctors, teachers and armed forces personnel were unveiled, with updates on Crossrail, defence, and local government finance.
Brexit also dominated the agenda as Theresa May confirmed that she was taking overall control of the EU negotiations, effectively demoting the Brexit secretary Dominic Raab.
Britain's de-facto Brexit chief negotiator Olly Robbins also made a rare appearance before MPs, where he faced a grilling from Eurosceptic MPs who believe he has softened the UK's negotiating stance.
See below for live updates
Welcome to The Independent's politics liveblog, where we will be bringing you all the latest updates from Westminster throughout the day.
It is the last day before recess and the government is dropping 21 written statements. The more boring the title, the more interesting the announcements tend to be so plenty to watch out for today - which is known as 'taking out the trash' day for Whitehall departments.
Reports overnight suggest public sector pay could feature heavily, as the government has come under intense pressure to crap the 1% cap on par rises for staff.
Prison officers will be among public sector workers receiving a pay rise, justice secretary David Gauke has said.
He told the Today programme: "There will be additional pay for prison officers.
"In terms of the funding for that, we need to make sure we can deliver within a reasonable way and we will be setting out more in due course."
Doctors, teachers and armed forces personnel are also expected to be included.
Around 1m public-sector workers will finally be freed from a harsh eight-year pay cap today – but the move will spark fears of further cuts to services.
Teachers, prison officers, members of the armed forces, doctors and dentists are set to be handed rises of between 1 and 3.5 per cent, backdated to last April.
Latest here:
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn is due to make a speech in Birmingham today, where he will call for efforts to capitalise on the economic benefit of Brexit for workers.
My colleague Ben Kentish has written a preview:
Britain is on course for a “catastrophic” Brexit security deal that could see criminals and terrorists go free, MPs have warned.
The Home Affairs Committee condemned both UK and EU negotiators for putting the safety and security of their citizens at risk by refusing to cross political “red lines”.
More here:
Max Hill, the Independent Reviewer of Terrorism Legislation, is to become the next Director of Public Prosecutions, the attorney general Geoffrey Cox has announced.
Mr Hill said: “I am honoured to be the next Director of Public Prosecutions. I am grateful to Alison Saunders for her service and look forward to building on her legacy.
"This is a challenging time for the CPS, with the rise in complex cases and negative publicity about its handling of disclosure in some cases. I have seen first-hand the sterling work of the CPS and I am determined to restore public trust in all of its work."
The DUP's Ian Paisley will find out today if he is being suspended for breaching parliamentary rules by failing to declare two all-expenses paid trips to Sri Lanka.
MPs will vote whether to endorse a record 30-day suspension for Mr Paisley, which could trigger a by-election in his North Antrim constituency if 10 per cent of constituents sign a petition.
He told the Ballymena Guardian: "There are also some who would have me booted out of parliament and a by-election called to fill that vacancy.
“They are opportunists, some with questionable motives, and I can tell them that I have no intention of going quietly into the night.
“If a petition leads to a by-election, make no mistake about it, I will seek re-election as I have never run away from an election in my life and I don't intend to do so now.”
Palmerston, the foreign office cat, has been spotted hunting down ducklings rather than his usual fare of mice.
It will be “illegal” to pay pensions to many retired British expats if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal, MPs have been told.
The Association of British Insurers said pensioners who receive their payments into bank accounts in their adopted countries would be left without cash.
Top story here from my colleague Rob Merrick:
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