Brexit - as it happened: David Davis hails 'significant step' as UK and EU strike draft transition deal

All the latest updates on the Brexit talks, as it happened

Michel Barnier has said there has been a 'decisive step' towards the UK's withdrawal from the European Union

Brexit Secretary David Davis has hailed a "significant step" in negotiations as the EU and the UK agreed the terms of a transition period after Britain leaves the bloc.

Speaking alongside his EU counterpart Michel Barnier in Brussels, Mr Davis said the Britain would be allowed to sign its own trade deals during the transition but conceded that it would allow full free movement rights for EU citizens who arrive during the period.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson also won support from EU leaders on a visit to Brussels after accusing Russia of breaching international law by secretly stockpiling a deadly nerve agent used in the Salisbury attack.

It comes as international inspectors arrived in the UK to examine samples used in the poisoning of ex-spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia, which ministers believe contain a Russian-made agent known as Novichok.

See below for live updates

Key Points

• Brexit transition period agreed, EU's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier says
• Theresa May's failure on the Northern Ireland border threatens Brexit talks, warns Good Friday Agreement architect
• Boris Johnson says Russia is 'not fooling anyone' with 'increasingly absurd' denials of Salisbury attack
• EU leaders offer 'unqualified solidarity' to UK in diplomatic row with Russia
• 'Nonsense' to suggest Russia poisoned Salisbury spy, says Vladimir Putin

[19 March 2018 08:27 · Lizzy Buchan]

Welcome to The Independent's politics liveblog, where we will be bringing you all the latest updates throughout the day. 

[19 March 2018 08:50 · Lizzy Buchan]

The Foreign Secretary has warned the Russian government that it is "not fooling anyone" with its "increasingly absurd" denials of culpability for use of a nerve agent on British soil.

Arriving at a meeting with EU foreign affairs ministers in Brussels on Monday morning Boris Johnson said Vladimir Putin's regime was trying to "conceal the needle of truth in a haystack of lies and obfuscation".

Story here:

[19 March 2018 08:54 · Lizzy Buchan]

The UK’s Gambling Commission has recommended that the maximum stake for fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) is cut to £30 or below – a move designed to crack down on problem gambling and protect the most vulnerable players.

Up until now FOBTs have allowed players to stake up to £100 every 20 seconds, which means that they could theoretically lose up to £18,000 an hour.

Latest here:​ 

[19 March 2018 08:58 · Lizzy Buchan]

Vladimir Putin has dismissed claims Russia was involved in the poisoning of former spy Sergei Skripal as “nonsense”.

Speaking as he was re-elected president of the Federation, the Russian leader claimed Mr Skripal and his daughter Yulia would have died instantly if they had been attacked with a nerve-agent. 

More here:​

[19 March 2018 09:09 · Lizzy Buchan]

Vladimir Putin has won a resounding election victory amid the growing diplomatic row over the Salisbury spy attack.

With almost all votes counted, figures from the Central Elections Commission gave Mr Putin a record 76.6 per cent of the vote.

Oliver Caroll sends this report from Moscow:

[19 March 2018 09:16 · Lizzy Buchan]

Theresa May has announced a new programme to address ethnic disparities in youth unemployment after figures showed 16 to 24 year olds from BAME groups were twice as likely to be unemployed as their white peers.

Story here:

[19 March 2018 09:27 · Lizzy Buchan]

David Davis will hold pivotal Brexit talks in Brussels ahead of a crunch meeting of European Union leaders later this week.

The Brexit Secretary is meeting counterpart Michel Barnier to thrash out details of transition arrangements that would come into force when Britain leaves in March 2019.

Theresa May will head to Brussels on Thursday for a meeting of the European Council where she is hoping a deal on the arrangements will be signed off.

His visit comes amid warnings from senior Tories that the UK must be allowed to formally sign trade deals during any transition period.

Britain will become a "joke nation" if the EU stops it agreeing new trading terms outside the bloc as it withdraws, leading Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg claimed.

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Rees-Mogg, who chairs the Brexit supporting Conservative European Research Group, wrote: "Britain has to decide if it is a serious country or a joke nation.

"It would be humiliating for others to have cause to think thus of us. The United Kingdom will not accept being a subservient state.

"In the case of tariffs, once we have left the EU, it is non-negotiable that our trade minister should be able to respond to any threat of increased tariffs from other nations as suits our national interest, not the EU's.

"We must be able to negotiate and sign trade deals."

[19 March 2018 09:47 · Lizzy Buchan]

The chief executive of Cambridge Analytica has been accused of “deliberately misleading” Parliament by denying allegations of harvesting personal data from Facebook users.

Damian Collins, chair of the influential Culture, Media and Sport Committee, says Alexander Nix gave “false statements” during the session, amid claims that Cambridge Analytica carried out a “data grab” on more than 50 million people.

More here: ​

[19 March 2018 09:58 · Lizzy Buchan]

EU foreign ministers have offered their "unqualified solidarity" to Britain over the Salisbury nerve agent attack, which they described as "reckless and illegal".

Here is the full statement:

"The European Union strongly condemns the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK on 4 March 2018, that also left a police officer seriously ill.

"The lives of many citizens were threatened by this reckless and illegal act. The European Union takes extremely seriously the UK Government's assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible.

"The European Union is shocked at the offensive use of any military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, for the first time on European soil in over 70 years. The use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances is completely unacceptable and constitutes a security threat to us all. Any such use is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, a breach of international law and undermines the rules-based international order.

"The EU welcomes the commitment of the UK to work closely with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in supporting the investigation into the attack. The Union calls on Russia to address urgently the questions raised by the UK and the international community and to provide immediate, full and complete disclosure of its Novichok programme to the OPCW.

"The European Union expresses its unqualified solidarity with the UK and its support, including for the UK's efforts to bring those responsible for this crime to justice.

"The EU will remain closely focussed on this issue and its implications."

[19 March 2018 10:09 · Lizzy Buchan]

The ex-leader of Theresa May’s Downing Street policy board has said he will not back her Brexit deal if it creates a hard border in Ireland.

George Freeman warned that time is running out to resolve the issue which he said is a “red line” for himself and other Conservative backbenchers.