Theresa May tells Cabinet she will not agree deal 'at any cost' amid Irish border row
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Theresa May has told the cabinet she will not agree a Brexit deal "at any cost" amid a fresh row over the vexed issue of the Irish border.
The prime minister's spokesman said there remains "a significant amount of work to do" and sought to reassure twitchy ministers that she would brief them before agreeing any deal.
Addressing journalists at a briefing on Tuesday, Ms May's spokesman said:“The prime minister said she was confident of reaching a deal. She said that, while the UK should aim to secure a withdrawal agreement as soon as possible, this would not be done at any cost.
“The prime minister said that, once agreement was reached on a withdrawal agreement, it remains the case that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed and it will be subject to securing an acceptable full future framework.”
It comes Ms May had to call Irish premier Leo Varadkar yesterday, after Brexit secretary Dominic Raab angered Dublin by appearing to backslide on a commitment the UK had made to preventing a hard border.
"There can be no expiry date and there can be no unilateral exit clause, and if it were to be either of those things, the backstop would not be worth the paper it was written on," Mr Vardakar added on Tuesday.
"If we do have a backstop and if it is used, it may be to our advantage or necessary to have a review - which is very different to the exit clause that would let the UK withdraw, and that has been Irish government stance all along."
This liveblog is now closed, but see how the day in Westminster unfolded below
Welcome to The Independent's liveblog, where we will be bringing you all the latest updates from Westminster throughout the day.
Theresa May called the Irish prime minister on Monday in order to calm anger in Dublin over comments made by her Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab.
Mr Raab reportedly tried to backslide on a commitment the UK had made to prevent a hard border with the Republic, suggesting the “backstop” policy should expire after just three months.
The taoiseach’s office said the prime minister had “sought” the call after the comments, said to have been made in a private meeting with officials, emerged.
More here:
Theresa May is expected to set out further information about the prospect of a no-deal Brexit when she speaks to her Cabinet later today.
Justice Secretary David Gauke, one of the more pro-EU ministers, told a Channel 4 Brexit debate show: "If we leave on no-deal terms there's no good shying away, it will be very bad for us economically.
"If we can get a good deal, and that means removing all the frictions.... the Chequers-type deal, as I say, if we don't have friction with trade, then, economically, I don't think it's going to make a particular big difference one way or the other."
John McDonnell has defended his controversial backing for tax cuts for top earners, telling rebel Labour MPs they risk defeat in another Tory “tax bombshell” election campaign.
The shadow chancellor was rocked by a revolt by 20 Labour MPs in a Budget vote last week, angry that he was failing to fight a shake-up that “overwhelmingly benefit the rich”.
More here:
Mims Davies has been appointed as the new sports minister after the resignation of Tracey Crouch, Downing Street has announced.
Crouch was well-liked and well-suited to her brief - as a football coach and qualified referee - but she resigned last week over a delay to plans to curb use of highly addictive gambling machines.
Davies was a junior minister at the Wales Office for only a matter of months, before being promoted to DCMS. The Eastleigh MP is a May loyalist - and a keen long distance runner.
Breaking news - Brexit campaign group Leave.EU and the Eldon Insurance company owned by its founder Arron Banks face fines totalling £135,000 over breaches of data laws, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has confirmed.
The report states that Leave.EU and Eldon - trading as GoSkippy - are being fined £60,000 each for "serious breaches" of the law which governs electronic marketing.
More than a million emails were sent to Leave.EU subscribers over two separate periods which also included marketing for GoSkippy services, without their consent, the report says.
Leave.EU also faces a £15,000 fine for a separate "serious" breach after almost 300,000 emails were sent to Eldon customers containing a newsletter for the Brexit campaign group.
A final decision is still to be reached on an alleged breach relating to the company's overall handling of personal data.
DUP chief whip Jeffrey Donaldson says the UK is 'heading for no deal' if Irish government doesn't compromise. Important intervention as the DUP props up Theresa May's government.
Gemma White QC has been appointed to lead a new inquiry into bullying against staff employed by MPs and peers, as reported by the Independent at the weekend.
The inquiry will proceed in two stages. The first will consider issues relating to the treatment of staff and others working directly for MPs, either in the Commons or in constituency offices now and in the past.
Interestingly, the second stage will consider issues relating to the treatment of MPs by each other and by staff.
Ms White has written to more than 7,000 staff past and present, encouraging them to come forward.
The letter says: “It is important for the restoration of faith in the way the House and its members treat those working for us that as wide a range as possible of testimony is offered to the Inquiry.
"The parliamentary community must ensure that everyone is treated with dignity and respect and we hope that the outcome of Gemma White’s Inquiry will help us to do that”.
The Commons is about to sit for the day, beginning with Treasury Questions - and Philip Hammond and his team are ready for action. He's clearly trying to up his social media game, a la his deputy Liz Truss.
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