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Brexit news: Theresa May rules out any negotiation with Jeremy Corbyn over customs union demands after meeting with Labour leader

With just 46 days before Britain is set to leave the EU, the prime minister is still searching for a deal she can pass through the Commons

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent
Monday 11 February 2019 11:50 GMT
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Theresa May confident Brexit will be delivered on March 29

Theresa May is seeking a compromise with Jeremy Corbyn on Brexit, a government minister has said as the prime minister reached out to Labour.

But with just 46 days before Britain is set to leave the EU, Downing Street rejected any agreement being reached with the Labour leader over a customs unions – one of Mr Corbyn’s central demands.

Referring to a letter sent by Ms May to Mr Corbyn, justice minister Rory Stewart said Ms May was seeking some sort of compromise, adding: “I think she feels, as I do that there isn’t actually as much dividing us from the Labour Party as some people suggest.”

Here is how we covered the day's events:

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Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 08:36
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Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 08:56
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Justice minister Rory Stewart has been speaking to Radio 4 Today's programme about Theresa May's letter to the Labour leader.

Asked if the PM was looking at some sort of compromise with the opposition leader, he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "Yes. I think she feels, as I do, that there isn't actually as much dividing us from the Labour Party as some people suggest."

Regarding Labour's stance on a customs union with the EU, Mr Stewart added: "On that there is a disagreement.

"The Prime Minister believes, as I believe, that a major economy like the United Kingdom shouldn't indefinitely be in a position where it is completely unable to create trade deals with other countries.

"So, what we are arguing in the letter is that we can achieve through the Withdrawal Agreement a great deal of what Jeremy Corbyn is interested in without taking away that option of having other trade deals."

Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 09:00
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Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 09:15
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Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 09:28
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Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson also told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Theresa May's letter: "It's clear that Jeremy Corbyn... he's done a complete U-turn.

"He now wants to frustrate Brexit very largely by staying in a permanent customs union."

On the Northern Ireland backstop, Mr Johnson said: "The argument is now about how to get out of the backstop. And how to make sure that the UK isn't locked in that prison of the customs union.

"I think that you would need to have a time limit."

Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 09:44
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After the Conservative MP Christopher Chope blocked a private members' bill on Friday on female genital mutilation, his Commons office has been decorated...

This is from the Sun's Hugo Gye.

Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 09:52
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At a speech in central London, the defence secretary Gavin Williamson, dismisses critics' suggestions that Britain is retreating in the world as it exits the European Union. He says the UK will build new alliances, and rekindle old ones.​

"We should be the nation people turn to when the world needs leadership," he says.

Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 10:14
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Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 10:47
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Ashley Cowburn11 February 2019 10:52

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