Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal appears on the verge of collapse after German chancellor Angela Merkel told him over the phone this morning than an agreement is “overwhelmingly unlikely”, according to Downing Street.
Asked if talks with the EU were close to breaking down, a No 10 source told The Independent: “That is what the prime minister told Merkel. They aren’t negotiating or engaging in Brussels.”
A No 10 source has also claimed there were ways to “scupper” the Brexit delay required by the Benn Act. Amber Rudd said Downing Street sounds “angry and desperate”, while EU Council president Donald Tusk accused the prime minister of playing a “stupid blame game”.
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Brexit campaign group Leave.EU, founded by Arron Banks (below), has been condemned for a xenophobic tweet referring to Angela Merkel as a “Kraut”.
Boris Johnson has now responded to the London Assembly’s request for details about his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri, according to Downing Street.
Officials said the information was provided about an hour after the 6pm deadline, having complained that the Assembly never specified the exact deadline in its original letter.
To add another bizarre note to the day, the Privy Council have approved plans for a special Brexit 50p coin bearing the date 31 October 2019 and the inscription “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations”.
The coins – all ten million of them – have not been minted yet, which is probably wise given the existing situation.
If that wasn’t enough, prime minister’s brother Jo Johnson has been sworn in as a member of the Privy Council at Buckingham Palace even though he resigned from the cabinet last month and announced he would be stepping down as an MP.
Among the other council business was the order proroguing Parliament from today until Monday 14th October.
Downing Street says that Boris Johnson will meet Irish premier Leo Varadkar later this week in an attempt to reach a Brexit agreement.
The two leaders spoke by telephone for about 40 minutes amid accusations from No 10 that the EU was making it “essentially impossible” for Britain to leave with an agreement.
“Both sides strongly reiterated their desire to reach a Brexit deal,” a Downing Street spokesman said. “They hope to meet in person later this week.”
Meanwhile there are a reports of a split in Downing Street between chief aide Dominic Cummings and Mr Johnson’s longstanding adviser Eddie Lister, who are said to disagree on strategy.
The question remains – is this still bluster and brinksmanship in the hope of getting the EU to give in to his demands, or is he really intending to defy the law requiring him to ask for an extension?
“I must note that there has been no progress,” says the European Parliament president.
More on that meeting – which seems to confirm that the prime minister’s hopes of reaching an agreement are now dead. Mr Sassoli says he “felt like I was in a TV talk show”.
European Parliament president David Sassoli has emerged from his 40-minute meeting with Boris Johnson to say there are now only two options – extension of Article 50 or no deal.
Here’s political editor Andrew Woodcock with the full report on Boris Johnson’s apparent failure to meet the deadline set by the London Assembly.
While the London Assembly said the deadline was the end of normal office hours, Downing Street has said it will respond to the London Assembly’s request by the end of the day.
That gives the prime minister another five-and-a-half hours to provide an explanation.
Mr Johnson has spent most of today battling to resuscitate his hopes of a Brexit agreement with the EU, insisting that the UK will be leaving on 31 October, deal or no deal.
Boris Johnson has failed to meet the deadline to give his response to allegations he failed to declare a conflict of interest over his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri.
The prime minister was given until 6pm today to give details of his contact with the US businesswoman while he was London Mayor, after it was reported she received £126,000 of public money and was invited to accompany Mr Johnson on overseas trade trips.
The London Assembly says it is will consider what action to take at a meeting next week.
Opinion: The latest dose of Brexit reality should be a huge boost for Jeremy Corbyn, writes James Moore
Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, has insisted that the UK government must uphold its “responsibilities” in Northern Ireland.
Speaking in Dublin this afternoon, he said:
“There is a lot of misinformation going around today, so let me say this loud and clear to everybody – the Irish government and the EU is working flat out to achieve a deal that sees an orderly Brexit at the end of this month.
“However, that deal cannot come at any cost. The British government has responsibilities on the island of Ireland.”
He added:
“The taoiseach wants to find a compromise here that works but he is not willing to be boxed into a corner and to accept proposals that are not consistent with the current Withdrawal Agreement or the outcomes of the backstop.
“He’s been very clear about that and I expect an element of that briefing was to try to put pressure on Ireland and put pressure on the taoiseach and for us, this isn’t about pressure or personalities, it’s about solving a problem.”
Jeremy Corbyn’s chief of staff, Karie Murphy, has moved to a new role at the party’s headquarters to oversee general election planning, it is understood.
The controversial but highly influential figure had alienated a number of senior shadow cabinet ministers, who had urged Mr Corbyn to move her.
A Labour source said: “As we ramp up campaigning ahead of a general election, we are maximising the use of the resources we have to ensure we are successful.
“Karie will drive this crucial work from HQ, as she did during the last election.”
Businesses would be hit with a £15bn bill for filling out customs forms if there is a no-deal Brexit, HMRC assessment finds
NEW: Here’s the official Privy Council “Order in Council” that will see Parliament prorogued at the end of today to allow for a Queen’s Speech next Monday.
Pro-Brexit group Leave.EU has been condemned for its “racist” and “xenophobic” tweet about Angela Merkel. Here’s Lizzy Buchan’s full story:
MPs have been condemning a poster tweeted by the Leave.EU group earlier today, which branded German chancellor Angela Merkel “a kraut”.
Independent Group for Change MP Chris Leslie raised the issue in the Commons, claiming the offensive image was a result of Downing Street’s “deliberate dog whistle briefing” about a phone call between Ms Merkel and Boris Johnson this morning. This had “sparked a series of frankly racist attacks against the Germans from Leave.EU and others”, he said.
He added: “This is an extremely dangerous course for the Government to embark on, and I want to hear right now the minister condemn it and distance himself from it.”
In response, Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, said:
“The first thing to say is I wasn’t in on that telephone call. The second thing I want to affirm is that the Bundeskanzler and the Federal Republic’s Government are good friends of this country.”
“And I take this opportunity at this despatch box to entirely disassociate myself from any sort of racist or demeaning language towards Germany – they are our friends, our allies, they are a great country.”
Michael Gove has told the Commons that he has not met a single business representative who would prefer a Jeremy Corbyn government to a no-deal Brexit.
The Cabinet Office minister was responding to a question from Labour MP Clive Betts, who said the economy had returned to the levels of growth of ten years ago and asked: “Would any other government consider a no-deal Brexit with the finances in that state?”
Mr Gove replied:
“Business takes a variety of views on Brexit and indeed on no-deal Brexit, but I’ve yet to meet a single businessman, woman or organisation that thinks a no-deal Brexit would be worse than a Jeremy Corbyn government.”
Labour MP Yvette Cooper has asked Michael Gove about the remarks made by an unnamed No 10 source who suggested to The Spectator that the UK could use border security cooperation as leverage with the Irish government and the EU.
Does he agree such threats are “extremely irresponsible and dangerous”? She suggests any No 10 official who could say such things is “unfit” to be there.
Gove said security cooperation with the EU was vital.
No 10 has made sure the “blame game” is well under way.
A new ComRes poll for The Telegraph shows a majority of voters – 56 per cent – would blame Boris Johnson for the failure of the UK to leave the EU on 31 October.
Yet an even higher proportion would blame the Europeans Commission (63 per cent) and parliament (83 per cent). So plenty of blame to go around.
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