Cabinet approves Theresa May's EU withdrawal agreement but 'up to 10 ministers' voice major concerns
After months of wrangling, draft agreement with Brussels gets through Cabinet
Theresa May has announced on the steps of Downing Street that her cabinet has reached a collective decision to back the draft Brexit agreement.
Senior ministers were summoned to No 10 for one-on-one meetings with the prime minister as news finally emerged of a draft agreement with Brussels after months of wrangling.
Ahead of the cabinet showdown, Ms May faced Jeremy Corbyn for a dramatic session of prime minister's questions, where he accused the PM of offering the British people a choice between a "botched deal and no deal".
She also faced the wrath of one Eurosceptic Tory MP, Peter Bone, who said if media reports over Ms May's Brexit deal were "accurate" then she would lose the support of Tory colleagues.
As it happened...
Political correspondent Ashley Cowburn has flagged this interesting piece from the editor of the grassroots site, ConservativeHome.
Paul Goodman, who is well-connected in Tory circles, suggests that the wheels for a leadership challenge could be in motion. Under Tory rules, 48 letters must be sent to the head of the backbench 1922 committee, Sir Graham Brady, to trigger a leadership contest.
Former attorney general Dominic Grieve said Sabine Weyand's comments showed why there should be a second referendum.
Mr Grieve said she had been "brutally honest" about what the prime minister's deal will mean.
The pro-Remain MP said: "Ms Weyand states 'the EU will retain all the controls' - a bitter blow for anyone who voted for Brexit to 'take back control'.
"I could not look my constituents in the eye and say this would be a better deal than the one we have as a member of the EU and so I will vote against it and instead I will vote to hand the final decision back to the public.
"A choice between this miserable Brexit and no deal is no choice at all. The British public deserve a real choice between leaving the EU on these terms or sticking with the deal we've got inside the EU."
The Telegraph is reporting that Geoffrey Cox has raised "significant concerns" about a key part of the Brexit plans. This spells trouble for the PM as the attorney general has become a highly influential voice in the cabinet.
Eye-catching front page from the Evening Standard, edited by George Osborne, a staunch May critic.
There is a heavy police presence on Whitehall as anti-Brexit protesters were heard shouting near Downing Street.
PMQs to start imminently. Here's a list of the MPs who have questions to Theresa May, which includes Tory Brexiteer Peter Bone and pro EU Tory Antoinette Sandbach.
And we are off. Huge laughs and cheers when May says she has held 'meeting with senior ministers', in a marvellous understatement.
She says she is confident that the plans will take us 'significantly closer' to a deal. She will give a statement in the Commons on the Brexit deal.
Tory Alex Burghart has the first question and kicks off with a toadying questions about wage growth. He says it was achieved by Conservative values, rather than the 'bankrupt socialism' from Labour.
Jeremy Corbyn starts with an attack on two year's of 'bungled negotiations'. He says the draft deal is a failure in its own terms.
It breaches the PM's own red lines and fails to deliver protections for jobs and the economy, he says.
Does May still intend to offer a false choice between no deal and her botched deal?
May says he always complains that no progress has been made - and now he is complaining that it has.
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