This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen
on .
It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
Brexit: Boris Johnson claims EU has not explained in detail why it objects to his alternative backstop plan - live news
Brexit: Boris Johnson claims EU has not explained in detail why it objects to his alternative backstop plan - live news
(32 minutes later)
Here is a link to the full text of the Scottish court’s judgment.
The Opinion of Lord Pentland in the petition of DALE VINCE, JOLYON MAUGHAM QC and JOANNA CHERRY QC MPis now available and can be read in full via this link: https://t.co/8HP6LwSaIp
These are from Jolyon Maugham, the lawyer who has lost the case in Scotland intended to get the court to issue an order compelling Boris Johnson to comply with the Benn Act.
In short, we've lost. THREAD
The Judge has decided that because the Government accepts that it will send the letter and not frustrate the purpose of the Act, it is "neither necessary nor appropriate" to make orders. pic.twitter.com/cTArzEkocC
The Judge adds that the Government's position is underpinned by the fact that the Advocate General for Scotland (the PM's 'man in London' if you like) is an officer of the court. pic.twitter.com/hfgFJ2E2hw
The true heart of the Court's reasoning can be seen in this passage. The true question raised by this case (see next tweet) is whether the Government is committed to this "core principle". pic.twitter.com/k7jYHlpwqz
I expressed this dilemma here (on Friday). I would rather live in the world the Court believes continues to exist. But I doubt we do. https://t.co/PVgXpPjlkl
As we have extracted promises from the Govt, the question whether this loss matters depends on whether you think I am right or the Court is right. But, on any view, there are now risks of an unlawful Brexit that would not, had the decision gone the other way, have existed.
I expect the Inner House of the Court of Session tomorrow to hear our appeal. /ENDS
Here is James Cleverly, the Conservative party chairman’s, take on the Brexit crisis.
Why “more time” doesn’t actually help “get a deal”. We want a new deal, will leave with no deal if we have to, but no more delays. #GetBrexitDone. pic.twitter.com/mgXWGNixpH
There are five urgent questions in the Commons today.
5 UQs TODAY from 3:30pm1. @Keir_Starmer to ask @SteveBarclay to make a statement on when the Government intend to publish the full legal text of their proposed changes to the Withdrawal Agreement and Political Declaration.
2. @ChrisLeslieMP to ask @trussliz to make a statement on the publication of the UK’s Schedule of Tariffs in the event of a no-deal Brexit.3. @DavidMundellDCT to ask @trussliz on US intention to impose tariffs of 25% on Single Malt Scotch Whisky and other UK products on 18 Oct
4. @DavidDavisMP to ask @patel4witham on Henriques’ report into Met’s Operation Midland5. @TulipSiddiq to ask @DominicRaab to make a statement on the case of Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, following release of one British-Australian national who was also imprisoned at Evin Prison
During his interviews at Watford hospital Boris Johnson also said he was willing to speak to President Trump about the American diplomat’s wife who is using diplomatic immunity to escape criminal proceedings in relation to a car crash that killed Harry Dunn, 19, in Northamptonshire. Johnson said:
I think everybody’s sympathies are very much with the family of Harry Dunn and our condolences to them for their tragic loss.
I must answer you directly, I do not think that it can be right to use the process of diplomatic immunity for this type of purpose.
And I hope that Anne Sacoolas will come back and will engage properly with the processes of law as they are carried out in this country.
That’s a point that we’ve raised or are raising today with the american ambassador here in the UK and I hope it will be resolved very shortly.
And to anticipate a question you might want to raise, if we can’t resolve it then of course I will be raising it myself personally with the White House.
Anti-Brexit campaigners have failed in an attempt to force Boris Johnson to ask for an extension to article 50 if he is unable to get a Brexit deal through parliament, my colleague Severin Carrell reports. His story goes on:
Lord Pentland, sitting in the court of session in Edinburgh, rejected their request for a court order instructing the prime minister to seek an extension if he cannot get a deal passed by the Commons this month.
Here is the full story.
Court rejects latest request to force PM to ask for Brexit extension
Boris Johnson has also restated his claim that the UK will definitely leave the EU on 31 October - even though MPs have passed the Benn Act, which is intended to stop that happening. Asked about the Scottish court case about whether he must send a letter requesting an extension in the event of there being no deal, Johnson said:
We will study any judgments, of course, very closely, as we always do. We will respect the law. And we will leave the European Union on October 31. Clearly, that’s what the people of this country voted for. I think most people just want just to get Brexit done.
The court of sessions judgement on Brexit will be out at 12.45pm, the lawyer Jolyon Maugham says.
The court of sessions judgement on Brexit will be out at 12.45pm, the lawyer Jolyon Maugham says.
Right. Have been sitting here wondering whether I dare 'go see a man about a dog'. Court has rescued me from my dilemma by saying the decision will be published at 12.45.
Right. Have been sitting here wondering whether I dare 'go see a man about a dog'. Court has rescued me from my dilemma by saying the decision will be published at 12.45.
This is what Boris Johnson said at Watford hospital when a reporter asked him if his Brexit plan was “dead in the water”. He replied:
This is what Boris Johnson said at Watford hospital when a reporter asked him if his Brexit plan was “dead in the water”. He replied:
Our proposal is very fair, very reasonable. What it does is respect the Good Friday agreement, the peace process in Northern Ireland. It makes sure there’s no hard border, no checks at all at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. It also goes further in allowing Northern Ireland and Ireland in alignment, both for agrifoods, for cattle and so on, but also for industrial goods as well. That’s a big step forward, big advance, big compromise by the UK government.
Our proposal is very fair, very reasonable. What it does is respect the Good Friday agreement, the peace process in Northern Ireland. It makes sure there’s no hard border, no checks at all at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland. It also goes further in allowing Northern Ireland and Ireland in alignment, both for agrifoods, for cattle and so on, but also for industrial goods as well. That’s a big step forward, big advance, big compromise by the UK government.
What we are saying to our friends is, this is a very generous, fair and reasonable offer that we have made. What we would like to hear from you now is what your thoughts are. And if you have issues with any of the proposals that we’ve come up with, then let’s get into the detail and discuss them.
What we are saying to our friends is, this is a very generous, fair and reasonable offer that we have made. What we would like to hear from you now is what your thoughts are. And if you have issues with any of the proposals that we’ve come up with, then let’s get into the detail and discuss them.
It was then put to Johnson that his Finnish opposite number, Antti Rinne, has said that Johnson is only just now realising what a “big mess” Brexit is and that Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is saying a deal would have to be agreed by Friday. Johnson replied:
It was then put to Johnson that his Finnish opposite number, Antti Rinne, has said that Johnson is only just now realising what a “big mess” Brexit is and that Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is saying a deal would have to be agreed by Friday. Johnson replied:
Well, I spoke to both Antti Rinne, the Finnish prime minster, and to Emmanuel Macron yesterday. And I think they can see that there is an argument now for pushing on and getting on with some substantive talks on the detail of what we are proposing ...
Well, I spoke to both Antti Rinne, the Finnish prime minster, and to Emmanuel Macron yesterday. And I think they can see that there is an argument now for pushing on and getting on with some substantive talks on the detail of what we are proposing ...
The issue is, what is the EU’s objection [to the UK plan]. We haven’t really heard the detail from them about what they think the problems are. It is time for use to get together and really thrash this thing out.
The issue is, what is the EU’s objection [to the UK plan]. We haven’t really heard the detail from them about what they think the problems are. It is time for use to get together and really thrash this thing out.
Johnson’s claim not to know why the EU is objecting to his plan is surprising. Everyone else seems to know, and Johnson himself has spoken to a series of EU leaders, including Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, Donald Tusk, the European council president, and Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (PM). There is a good summary of EU objections here, in the statement from the European parliament’s Brexit steering group.
Johnson’s claim not to know why the EU is objecting to his plan is surprising. Everyone else seems to know, and Johnson himself has spoken to a series of EU leaders, including Jean-Claude Juncker, the European commission president, Donald Tusk, the European council president, and Leo Varadkar, the Irish taoiseach (PM). There is a good summary of EU objections here, in the statement from the European parliament’s Brexit steering group.
Johnson also refused to answer questions about the Jennifer Arcuri interview on Good Morning Britain this morning (see 9.17am), saying he had already said all he wanted to on this matter.
Johnson also refused to answer questions about the Jennifer Arcuri interview on Good Morning Britain this morning (see 9.17am), saying he had already said all he wanted to on this matter.
Boris Johnson has been visiting Watford general hospital this morning. Looking at the photographs from the visit, it seems that for the second time in a week he’s been engaging in mug politics - getting your chinaware to do your political messaging.
Here is last week’s example.
I got my coffee in the end. pic.twitter.com/F5cDVZHhHA
Johnson has also been giving interviews. I will post the highlights shortly.
The lawyer Jolyon Maugham has a useful Twitter thread on what to expect from today’s court of session Brexit judgment. It starts here.
A short thread, in advance of the decision today, on where things are with the Scottish proceedings. THREAD
I’m just back from the Downing Street lobby briefing, and nothing was said by the prime minister’s spokesman to suggest that Boris Johnson thinks there is much chance of the UK reaching a Brexit agreement with the EU this week. Johnson is due to hold telephone calls today with the prime ministers of Sweden, Denmark and Poland, but the spokesman did not announce any plans for Johnson to hold face-to-face meetings with his EU counterparts and he would not deny a report saying a meeting with Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, has not taken place because Merkel’s office could not find a slot for him in the diary.
There was a stage when Johnson was claiming that the UK was making significant progress in its talks with the EU. But the spokesman was not using language like that this morning, although when pressed he said that the EU did view the publication of the UK plans last week as a “step forward”.
The spokesman also kept stressing that it was now up to the EU to compromise. Asked about Stef Blok, the Dutch foreign minister, saying this morning that the EU wanted “more realism and clarity” from the UK on Brexit, the spokesman replied:
We are ready to talk with the EU at a pace to secure a deal so that we can move on and build a new partnership between the UK and the EU, but if this is to be possible the EU must match the compromises that the UK has made.
Blok made his comment after a meeting with Stephen Barclay, the Brexit secretary.
#NorthSeaNeighbours – Frank & honest discussion today with @SteveBarclay as good neighbours do. Important questions still remain on UK #Brexit proposals and more realism and clarity necessary this week. Full support for @MichelBarnier pic.twitter.com/7A0KUUmdb2
These are from ITV’s Robert Peston.
So believe it or not, the 21 Tory MPs expelled from the parliamentary Conservative party, plus Rudd who quit, today refused to support opposition MPs who wanted to put down an SO24 motion that would have allowed MPs to seize control of parliament’s business on any day between...
now and Brexit day on 31 October. Labour and SNP had ordered all their MPs to London to support the motion. But now it won’t be put on the order paper till next Tuesday, if at all. The point of the motion was to give MPs the power to pass whatever legislation they thought they...
need to stop a no-deal Brexit on 31 October. But the Tory rebels apparently now buy the Johnson and Cummings argument that MPs flexing their collective muscles to stop a no-deal Brexit is undermining their chances of getting a deal. But as I reported earlier, there is next to...
no chance of the EU accepting Johnson’s offer anyway (see https://t.co/3D5abBMm2p). So Cummings and Johnson will be chortling into their coffees as we speak. And business in the Commons today will be of magnificent unimportance.
I’m off to the Number 10 lobby briefing. I will post again after 11.30am.
On the BBC’s Westminster Hour last night Lee Rowley, a Tory Brexiter who voted against Theresa May’s deal three times, said he did not think leave voters would blame Boris Johnson if Brexit were delayed. He explained:
I think the British people have more or less clocked what’s going on here. And I was out in my constituency, North East Derbyshire - 60% leave seat, formerly Labour-held for 80 years – this weekend. I lost track of the number of people who said to me on the doorstep –we know what’s going on, Boris is trying to get a deal and he is also trying to get us out. And if he doesn’t achieve that, and Boris is clear that he is going to do that, but if he doesn’t, we know where the problem will be. Because it’s the same problem that’s been there’s been for the last two years. Parliament doesn’t want to leave.
One of the key questions in British politics at the moment is whether pro-leave voters will blame Boris Johnson if Brexit has to be extended, and line up behind Nigel Farage’s Brexit party at the general election, or whether they will give Johnson the benefit on the grounds that at least he tried.
As Mujtaba Rahman says in his Eurasia briefing (see 9.57am), No 10 used to think a Brexit delay would be disastrous for the Tories electorally, but now they have changed their mind. Rahman says:
The election could turn on this question: how damaging will an extension be for Boris? His strategy is to make enough gains in Labour-held leave areas in the North and Midlands to offset likely losses to the SNP in Scotland and the pro-Remain Lib Dems in the South. This gamble would be compounded by an extension, which would likely play into the hands of Nigel Farage’s Brexit party, who would cry betrayal. To win a majority, the Tories need to further squeeze the Brexit party’s vote.
Initially, Boris allies were nervous about the impact of an extension. But during last week’s Tory conference they became confident that the “Farage factor” would not scupper Johnson’s chances of victory. They were cheered by opinion poll and focus group findings that the PM would not be blamed for the latest delay to Brexit. As one aide said: “The public see him as Mr. Brexit and the only one who can deliver it. They know who is responsible [for delay] and we will keep reminding them of it.”
Team Boris is confident of success in what is a “blame game” at three levels—pinning responsibility for the coming extension on the EU, Parliament and the judiciary. It could be called the ABB strategy—anyone but Boris.
But in an article in the Times (paywall) the leading psephologist Prof Sir John Curtice is not convinced that Johnson will be able to escape the blame so easily.
So far, confidence in Mr Johnson’s handling of Brexit — and indeed his party’s standing in the polls which, according to Opinium’s latest poll, is, at 38 per cent, higher than at any time since last February, before Mrs May failed to deliver Brexit — has not suffered in the wake of what are already diminishing expectations among voters that Brexit will be delivered at the end of the month.
According to YouGov, at the beginning of September, three in five (60 per cent) Leave voters thought it likely that Brexit would have happened by October 31, while only about one in four (27 per cent) thought it unlikely. Now only about a half of them (49 per cent) expect Mr Johnson to meet the deadline.
Still, that potentially leaves a lot of voters whose hopes and expectations will be dashed if Brexit is not delivered at the end of the month. Of course, they may decide that some combination of the EU, the judges, Jeremy Corbyn and Jo Swinson are responsible for any failure to deliver Brexit. But expect Nigel Farage to point the finger of blame at Mr Johnson and his Conservative Party. Much could yet depend on who wins and loses the blame game.
Rob Ford, a politics professor, thinks leave voters will turn on Johnson if there is an extension. (BXP is the Brexit party.)
My money is on Johnson and Cons losing blame game fwiw. BXP voters are low attention and low trust, when Farage announces “he has failed, he has betrayed Brexit” on Nov 1st that’s who they will respond to. https://t.co/7nGG00QJaS
BXP does best among white voters with low formal educational qualifications. Such voters tend to express lower interest in politics, score lower on political knowledge etc. Less likely to be following things day to day. Therefore less likely to know detail of why Boris faile..d
But Matthew Goodwin, another academic, takes an alternative view.
I'm just not convinced Brexit Party voters will abandon Boris Johnson if extension happens. Why?78% approve of his handling of Brexit 75% say MPs SHOULD vote for deal 74% approve of job as PM64% say "surrender" acceptable language59% "more positive" of BJ since conference
In a briefing he sent out at the end of last week Goodwin explained in more detail why he thinks, in an election, Johnson could win the support of people currently saying they would vote for the Brexit party.
Were Johnson and his team to successfully recruit Brexit party voters [at the general election] then they would likely win sizeable majorities. If Johnson won back half of the Brexit party vote then he might win a comfortable majority, with 348 seats to Labour’s 201. If he goes further and wins back three-quarters of Farage’s Brexiteers then the number of Conservative seats increased at around 370 to Labour’s 185 - a commanding majority.
Might this actually happen? We do think that the Brexit party vote is softer than some think, for a couple of reasons. First, when these voters are asked who would make the best prime minister - Johnson or Corbyn- they break 84% to 1% for Johnson. Lord Ashcroft asked a slightly different question, whether they would want to see a Conservative government led by Johnson or a Labour government led by Corbyn. 94% opted for a Johnson government. A campaign that inevitably presents voters with this simple binary choice would likely see many Brexit party voters conclude “Johnson”.
Even this week, as the pressure on Johnson became clear, large majorities of Brexit party voters still felt that he is competent, decisive, strong, likeable, authentic and ‘in touch with ordinary people’. In fact, 91% of Brexit party voters openly reject the idea that Johnson should resign and want him to remain as prime minister. Put simply, these do not look like people who are about to revolt en masse. It was also telling that when Nigel Farage called on Johnson to resign he was widely criticised by his own voters on social media. Furthermore, so long as Johnson appears sincere in his support for a ‘meaningful’, ‘clean’ or ‘hard’ Brexit then these Brexit party voters are instinctively on side. As polling made clear this week, 81% want Britain to leave with no deal while 91% would ‘not be worried’ if Britain left without a deal.
Five years ago Ford and Goodwin co-wrote an acclaimed book on Ukip, Revolt on the Right. Since then some of their views have diverged.
Mujtaba Rahman, the Brexit specialist at the Eurasia consultancy who produces regular briefing notes based on what he’s been told by insiders in London and Brussels, has issued an update on the state of play this morning. He says he thinks the chances of the UK and the EU agreeing a deal this week are now “close to zero”, and that the chances of a no-deal Brexit happening on 31 October are also “extremely small”. We’re heading for an election, he assumes.
Here’s an extract.
UK ministers admit privately there is little prospect of agreement. As one put it: “If the consent mechanism [on regulation] were the only problem, then a deal would be doable. But if we say Northern Ireland must be in the UK customs territory and the EU says it must be in the [EU] customs union, the problems are insurmountable. That’s where we are.”
Downing Street’s official line remains that the UK will leave on 31 October with or without a deal. At the same time, it insists the government “will obey” the Benn Act approved by parliament, forcing Johnson to seek an extension to UK membership if a deal has not been approved by parliament by 19 October. Ministers refuse to say how these contradictory positions will be reconciled. Some admit privately they do not know.
We think Johnson will pursue a strategy some aides describe as “being dragged, kicking and screaming” into an extension, so Leave voters know he is doing it against his will. This is why he still promises “no delay” even though he knows the prospects of a deal are remote.
He may play for time on 19 October, so the Benn Act is tested in the courts (Johnson would swiftly be taken to court if he did not comply immediately). The courts could send a letter on the government’s behalf, or order a civil servant or another minister to do so. Outright refusal to obey the law is a non-starter; it could provoke several resignations including those of Geoffrey Cox, the attorney general, and Robert Buckland, the justice secretary.
So we think that, sooner or later, Johnson will send the letter required by the act, but that too could be tested in the courts. It will likely describe the proposed delay as “parliament’s extension”, not one sought by the government.
This is from my colleague Severin Carrell.
Seems @DaleVince @JolyonMaugham @joannaccherry #BennAct decision won’t be published until noon, in writing. No #courtofsession hearing with Pentland today, says @JudgesScotland press office
The lawyer Jolyon Maugham says he does not know what time the Scottish court judgment will be issued. I had been told 10am, but that may have been duff information.
A decision of the Outer House of the Court of Session is expected today but we are not expecting a hearing. It will be issued to the parties and published in the normal way. We do not, as matters stand, know the time at which it will be issued.
Politicians spend a lot of time in interviews dodging questions, but mostly they are not very good at it. They could all learn by watching Jennifer Arcuri, the American businesswoman at the centre of the scandal over claims that Boris Johnson improperly helped her company with grants and trade mission access when he was mayor of London because they had a very close friendship. She has given an interview to Good Morning Britain this morning, and she managed to give a non-answer that made her look strong and assertive, not weak and evasive. This is what she said when Piers Morgan asked her if she had ever had an intimate relationship with Johnson. She said:
Because the press have made me this objectified ex-model pole dancer, I am really not going to answer that question ... I’m sorry, I am not going to be putting myself in a position for you to weaponise my answer. I’m being used as a pawn. This entire thing is a crazy charade.
‘It’s really categorically no-one’s business.’ Tech entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri refuses to answer any questions about the intimacy of her relationship with Boris Johnson over concerns her answer will be weaponised. pic.twitter.com/fg1fYcncqq
Arcuri also insisted that her firm had not received favours from Johnson.
‘Boris never gave me favouritism.’ US businesswoman Jennifer Arcuri says Boris Johnson never gave her preferential treatment and only knew her as an ‘extremely passionate entrepreneur of the London tech scene’. pic.twitter.com/Je4x1gWn2A
My colleague Matthew Weaver has written the whole interview up here.
Jennifer Arcuri refuses to rule out claims of affair with Boris Johnson
In normal circumstances this might be the story of the day, but the UK is only 24 days from a deadline that could pitch the country into a potentially crippling no-deal Brexit and Johnson has much more pressing things on his minds. His options might be affected by a decision in a Scottish court that could determine the extent to which he is constrained by the Benn Act. Here is the Press Association’s preview story.
A decision is expected to be made on whether the prime minister can be forced by the courts to send a letter requesting an article 50 extension.
Documents submitted to the court of session on behalf of Boris Johnson were read out on Friday, in which he makes it clear he will not attempt to frustrate the so-called Benn Act.
However, the petitioners believe No 10 cannot be trusted to abide by the law, so have launched legal action.
The legislation, passed by Westminster last month, requires the prime minister to ask the EU for a Brexit extension to January 31 if parliament does not agree to any withdrawal deal Number 10 may come back with by October 19.
Legal action - led by businessman Vince Dale, SNP MP Joanna Cherry QC and Jolyon Maugham QC - was launched at the outer house of the court.
It seeks to create an order which would force Johnson to send the letter and prohibits him from frustrating the Act’s purpose.
This includes banning him from asking EU member states to deny the letter’s request or by sending an additional letter which contradicts it.
Aidan O’Neill QC, representing the campaigners behind the legal action, claimed Johnson’s previous statements go against what he has said to the court through the documents.
He referred to promises made by the prime minister that he would rather be “dead in a ditch” than send a letter requesting an extension, and that the UK will leave on October 31 “do or die”.
Judge Lord Pentland is expected to announce his decision on the case on Monday.
And here is a blog from the Good Law Project, run by Maugham, explaining his case in more detail.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Boris Johnson visits a hospital in Watford.
11am: Downing Street lobby briefing.
12pm: The court of session in Edinburgh is due to deliver its ruling in the legal challenge intended to ensure the PM complies with the Benn Act.
2.30pm: Therese Coffey takes work and pensions questions in the Commons.
At some point Jeremy Corbyn is chairing another meeting of the opposition parties in Westminster, to discuss joint efforts to stop a no-deal Brexit. And opposition MPs may press for an emergency debate on a more to force the government to publish the full legal text of its Brexit plan.
As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although I will be focusing mostly on Brexit. I plan to publish a summary when I wrap up.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.
If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.
