Boris Johnson news: Poll shows no-deal Brexit support plunging, as PM sets up looming battle over Arcuri inquiry deadline
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Jennifer Arcuri discussed her relationship with Boris Johnson on Good Morning Britain, refusing to deny she had an affair with him while he was London mayor, but insisting he “never ever gave me any favouritism”.
The Court of Session rejected a request for Mr Johnson be ordered to ask for a Brexit extension if he fails to get a deal, since the Scottish court accepted the government’s assurances it will abide by the Benn Act.
A new BMG Research poll for The Independent showed falling support for a no-deal Brexit, with only one-third of voters backing the idea of Mr Johnson crashing the UK out of the EU on 31 October if he cannot reach an agreement.
Follow events as they happened in our liveblog below
Jeremy Corbyn is set to meet the leaders of other opposition parties at lunchtime to scrutinise the government’s new Brexit proposals.
Corbyn will meet the SNP’s Ian Blackford, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson and the Greens’ Caroline Lucas – as well as Anna Soubry of the Independent Group for Change and Plaid Cymru’s Liz Saville Roberts.
Shadow cabinet ministers John McDonnell, Valerie Vaz and Shami Chakrabarti will also be in attendance, along with the Lib Dem’s Brexit spokesman Tom Brake.
The group remains at odds over the idea of Corbyn as caretaker PM, but the immediate focus will be on a parliamentary push to force the prime minister to publish the full legal text of his Brexit plan – something he’s resisted doing so far.
Ahead of the meeting, Corbyn said: “Labour is continuing to lead cross-party efforts to prevent a damaging no deal. Today’s meeting will give us the chance to scrutinise the government’s proposals together.”
We’re expecting a decision in the Court of Session case – led by campaigners seeking to force the Article 50 extension as outlined by the Benn Act – in Edinburgh today.
Scotland’s highest civil court is expected to deliver a verdict on what sanctions could be applied if Boris Johnson refuses to comply with the law – including whether or not he could go to jail.
Lord Pentland will deliver his ruling on that later today.
A separate part of the case, on whether the court could use a nobile officium – or “nob off” – to sign a letter to the EU asking for a delay on the prime minister’s behalf will be considered by the court on Tuesday.
Campaigner and barrister Jolyon Maugham outside Court of Session (PA)
Okay. So a quick recap on that Jennifer Arcuri interview on GMB.
The US businesswoman said Boris Johnson asked her to “show him a few things” on the pole in her London flat, and claimed they had bonded over “classical literature and Shakespeare”.
The tech entrepreneur repeatedly refused to say whether or she had a sexual relationship with Johnson. She said the text had come through when she was out with friends, who suggested putting him under the code name “Alexander the Great”.
Arcuri said she had never discussed any sponsorship or grants with Johnson. When asked if she had asked him to help with any “sponsorship money”, she said: “Categorically no.”
She said Johnson had “absolutely nothing to do” with the £100,000 grant given to her company, Hacker House, in January this year.
When asked whether the company operates out of the UK, despite her relocation to California, she said: “Yes, we operate out of the UK.”
Arcuri ended the interview by saying she had a “close bond” with the PM, although she said “of course” when asked if she felt betrayed by him.
Explaining that the pair stopped speaking regularly when she fell pregnant in late 2016, the businesswoman said: “I don’t need him right now, Britain needs him right now.”
All the details here.
Tom Copley, Labour London Assembly Member, said he doesn’t think “we learned very much at all” from the Jennifer Arcuri interview. “She was asked repeatedly whether she had an affair with Boris Johnson and refused to answer.”
He added: “I think it’s worth reminding ourselves why this is important. This isn’t about whether or not he had an affair in and off itself … The issue is whether or not he used his position to benefit a close personal friend.”
Commenting on Jennifer Arcuri’s interview, John McDonnell said: “As mayor, Boris Johnson had a duty under the Greater London Authority code of conduct to declare his friendship with Jennifer Arcuri and not to act in a way that benefited her business.”
Labour’s shadow chancellor added: “Regardless of the exact nature of his relationship with Arcuri, it is clear that she and Boris Johnson were close, and that he misled the public when he said ‘there was no interest to declare’.
“The prime minister is unfit for office. This morning has thrown up even more questions for Boris Johnson, which can only be answered with a full investigation into the apparent misuse of public funds.”
Far-right activists are exploiting concerns about the safety of women and children to target Muslims and ethnic minorities, an official report has found.
The Commission for Countering Extremism’s first major report, seen exclusively ahead of its release by The Independent, warned that the tactic was drawing in white communities who would not normally support the far right, and worsening social division.
Our home affairs correspondent Lizzie Dearden has all the details.
Opposition parties had hoped to use a parliamentary measure known as an SO24 to seize control of Commons business today, in a bid to get the government to publish the full legal text of his Brexit plan – and the legal advice underpinning it.
But, according to Robert Peston, it’s to no avail.
Barrister and campaigner Jolyon Maugham QC has been tweeting about “where things are with the Scottish proceedings”.
He says today’s decision will come from the Outer House of the Court of Session on whether “the Court give *orders* that he act as the Benn Act dictates … to ensure compliance with the rule of law there needs to be legal sanction.”
“If the Court does give those Orders and the PM breaches them then criminal sanction for his unlawful conduct becomes a real possibility,” he adds. “I do not want the country to be one where the PM faces imprisonment but even less do I want the country to be one where he is above the law.”
Tuesday will see proceedings move to the Inner House of the Court of Session. He says that hearing will cover whether the court should “exercise its nobile officium” – whether or not the court can sign the letter asking the EU for an extension.
Police have arrested several Extinction Rebellion activists as they attempt to close off streets leading into Westminster, including Trafalgar Square and Lambeth Bridge.
Protesters are vowing to shut down the area they demand urgent action on the climate and environmental crises, claiming the demonstrations will be five times bigger than the ones held in April.
More details here.
If No 10 wants to make the next general election a people versus parliament contest, the latest Ipsos MORI survey doesn’t make for encouraging reading.
Only 25 per cent of people think Boris Johnson is on the side of the people, while 36 per cent see him as on the side of the establishment. Likewise, only 15 per cent view the Tories as on the side of the people, as opposed to 42 per cent who place them as part of the establishment.
With the Brexit Party the most likely to be seen “on the side of the British people”, it doesn’t make for encouraging reading for many of us.
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