Boris Johnson: 'The Incredible Sulk chickens out' of Brexit press conference amid noisy protests as EU decries lack of 'concrete proposals'

MPs warned of 'flaw' in legislation to block no-deal

Boris Johnson ducks out of press conference amid noisy protests, leaving empty podium next to Luxembourg's PM

Boris Johnson was branded "The Incredible Sulk" after he cancelled a planned press conference because of noisy protests in Luxembourg following his meeting with Jean-Claude Juncker, as the European Commission president said the UK has still “not yet made” proposals to replace the Irish backstop.

It comes as Jolyon Maugham QC and rebel MPs warned that there is a “flaw” in the legislation demanding the prime minister asks Brussels for a three-month Brexit delay.

The Lib Dems’ foreign spokesperson Chuka Umunna said the party could win 200 seats at the next election, while leader Jo Swinson ruled out any electoral pact with Labour or forming a coalition with Jeremy Corbyn.

Here's how we covered developments as they happened:

Key Points

• Johnson booed and told to 'go home' in Luxembourg
• Juncker says UK has 'not yet made' proposal to replace backstop
• MPs warned of 'flaw' in anti-no deal legislation
• Chuka Umunna thinks Lib Dems can win 200 seats
• Jo Swinson rules out Lib Dem electoral pact with Labour

[16 September 2019 20:24 · Chris Baynes]

Campaign Against Arms Trade, which brought the original court case over the UK's military exports to Saudi Arabia, has responded to the government's apology for breaching its assurances that there would be no further sales.

Spokesman Andrew Smith said: "We are always being told how rigorous and robust UK arms export controls supposedly are but this shows that nothing could be further from the truth.

"The reality is that, no matter how appalling the crisis in Yemen has become, the government has always been far more concerned with arms company profits than it has with the rights and lives of Yemeni people."

[16 September 2019 20:50 · Chris Baynes]

Labour has called on international trade secretary Liz Truss to resign over the government's breach of a court ruling which required it to halt arms exports to Saudi Arabia.

Barry Gardiner, shadow trade secretary, said: "Yet again it appears there is one law for Conservative ministers and another for everyone else.

"The Tories have repeatedly claimed that we have the most robust licensing regime in the world. Now it is clear that they cannot even abide by the rulings of the Court of Appeal. The department has failed to conduct proper assessments and essential information is not being relayed between government departments.

“Liz Truss must provide a full account of why her department failed so miserably. If she cannot control her department, obey the law and do what is morally right, she should resign.”

[16 September 2019 21:15 · Chris Baynes]

UK government needs to "get real" with the DUP, Sinn Fein has said after a meeting with Northern Ireland secretary Julian Smith.

Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said the confidence-and-supply arrangement with the DUP had hindered Conservatives' ability to negotiate neutrally with the Northern Ireland majority party. She claimed the Tories instead seek to "placate" the DUP because of their influence in Westminster, rather than hold meaningful talks on restoring a government in Northern Ireland.

"Julian Smith says the Prime Minister wants to have powersharing restored, and if that's the case then they need to get cracking and need to get real," McDonald said.

Smith met representatives of all the main Irish parties during a one-day visit to Dublin today. He also met Irish foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney, and the pair are understood to have discussed the ongoing power-sharing impasse at Stormont.

Stormont has been in cold storage for more than two and half years due to a stand-off between Sinn Fein and the DUP on issues such as Irish language legislation and a ban on same sex marriage.

[16 September 2019 21:47 · Chris Baynes]

We're wrapping up this live blog for the night - thanks for reading.