EU chief Donald Tusk labelled 'devilish, trident wielding, euro maniac' by DUP after extraordinary attack on Brexiteers
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Irish taoiseach Leo Varadkar and European Council president Donald Tusk have said they will “not gamble with peace” over Theresa May‘s demands on the Northern Ireland backstop.
In an extraordinary intervention, Mr Tusk lashed out a Brexiteers in the UK, saying: “I’ve been wondering what that special place in hell looks like, for those who promoted Brexit, without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it out safely.”
His comments sparked a furious reactions from Eurosceptics, with the DUP's Sammy Wilson calling Mr Tusk a "devilish, trident wielding, euro maniac".
Shortly afterwards, Labour's Emily Thornberry, standing in for Jeremy Corbyn at Prime Minister's Questions, called for Article 50 to be extended to allow for more time for negotiations with the EU.
As it happened...
Theresa May is in Belfast this morning for meetings with the Northern Irish parties as she attempts to find a solution that will ensure there is no hard border after Brexit.
The prime minister angered Tory Brexiteers yesterday after suggesting that her plan involved changing the current backstop proposal but not replacing it.
A group of Tory MPs is currently looking at "alternative arrangements" to the backstop but Ms May said she did not expect people to support a withdrawal agreement that did not include some form of insurance policy.
Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, has been told he is not welcome in Calais, after the port's chairman labelled him "disrespectful"
A 59-year-old man has been arrested over threats made to Labour MP Yvette Cooper
NEW: Donald Trump is likely to visit the UK again in December to attend a Nato summit that just just been announced by the organisation's secretary general, Jens Stoltenberg.
The US president's last visit, in July, was marred by protests.
The Polish Embassy has hit out at Labour after the party included footage of far-right parties in Poland in a video on antisemitism.
The embassy says Poland is "one of the safest countries in Europe for Jews" and is demanding the video is taken down.
Nissan has been let down by Brexit ideologues like Jacob Rees-Mogg, writes economics editor Ben Chu
Greg Clark, the business secretary, has suggested to the Commons business committee that he would resign if the government decides to pursue a no-deal Brexit.
He said:
"As long as [getting a deal] remains the policy of the government, I will be a vigorous proponent of that.
But I think it’s obvious to everyone that, if it were ever to be the policy of the government, as a matter of policy, to leave the European Union [without a deal], I think there would be many people on all sides of the House that would regard that as unacceptable."
Speaking after meeting Theresa May in Belfast, Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) leader Robin Swann said the prime minister had been reluctant to discuss restoring devolution in Northern Ireland.
He said:
"The conversation we were having with the prime minister was initially about Brexit.
We had to drag her to a place were we actually started to talk about how we get these institutions back up and running."
My colleague Lizzy Buchan is in Belfast, where Theresa May is holding talks with the Northern Irish parties. It doesn't sound like they are going particularly well...
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