Brexit

Former Whitehall chief Gus O’Donnell has stepped up his criticism of politicians accusing civil servants of bias over Brexit, arguing their attacks amounted to bullying. Independent crossbencher Lord O’Donnell, who headed the civil service for six years, also warned that it was damaging to democracy. His comments came amid a continuing row over Treasury forecasts […]

Theresa May’s decision to leave the EU’s customs union will cause “unavoidable” barriers to trade, Michel Barnier has warned. The European Union’s chief negotiator visited Downing Street for talks with Theresa May and Brexit secretary David Davis in which he pushed for greater clarity about the UK’s approach to the next phase of the process. […]

Michel Barnier has warned there is “not a minute to lose” in efforts to achieve a Brexit deal as he prepared for talks with Theresa May. The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator was travelling to London as Downing Street insisted the UK would not remain in a customs union with the EU after leaving the […]

Home Secretary Amber Rudd has said ministers will not be intimidated by threats of a leadership challenge to Theresa May from Tory Brexiteers. As the Cabinet’s Brexit sub-committee prepares to meet for two days of talks on the UK’s future relationship with the EU, Ms Rudd insisted they would come forward with proposals which would […]

Former cabinet secretary Lord Gus O’Donnell said attacks on the civil service for allegedly sabotaging Brexit are “completely crazy”, following claims officials were “fiddling the figures”. Yesterday the leading Tory Hard Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg accused Treasury officials of “fiddling the figures” to show that Britain would be worse off outside the EU, whatever the outcome […]

Leaders of the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Plaid Cymru and the Greens have signed a joint letter calling on Jeremy Corbyn to rethink Labour’s position on Brexit ahead of a meeting with his MPs. Following the leaked government Brexit analysis showing that, under the three most plausible Brexit scenarios, there is no scenario that does not […]

Brexit talks gather pace next week as the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier travels to London to meet Theresa May and David Davis. The prime minister and Brexit secretary will be keen for negotiations on a proposed transition deal to step up a gear as Mr Barnier arrives for face-to-face dialogue in Downing Street next […]

Brexiteers are seen overseas as a “bunch of emotional nutcases”, a former Tory minister has said. Lord O’Neill of Gatley, who quit his post as a Treasury minister last year and switched to the crossbenches in the upper house, urged Leave backers to be “realistic” about the impact of Brexit on the economy. The ex-Goldman […]

A cross-party group of politicians has gone to a Scottish court in a bid to seek a European legal ruling on whether the UK Parliament can unilaterally halt the Brexit process if the final deal is deemed unacceptable. Elected representatives from four parties – Green MSPs Andy Wightman and Ross Greer, Joanna Cherry QC MP […]

A Brexit minister has avoided being sacked but was forced into a Commons apology for raising allegations which suggested Treasury officials were trying to keep Britain in the customs union. Steve Baker said he should have corrected or dismissed an account of the claim relayed to the Commons by Conservative MP Jacob Rees-Mogg, which he […]

Labour MP Chuka Umunna has launched a coalition of forces including The New European to fight a Hard Brexit and push for the public to get a say on Theresa May’s final deal to leave the EU. The Grassroots Coordinating Group, made up of bodies representing more than half a million members, will come together […]

Jeremy Corbyn has come under renewed pressure to commit Labour to remaining in the single market and customs union after Brexit. The Labour leader said he wanted to ensure that British firms and universities continued to have “close relationships” with the European Union. Labour wants a “tariff-free trade relationship” and “a form of customs union”, […]

George Osborne has said the “sums don’t stack up” for severing economic ties with the European Union and warned Tories they could face electoral defeat unless Theresa May ditches her Brexit plans. The former chancellor said the way to take on Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour was to put a “sound economic plan forward” but the prime […]

RICHARD PORRITT with the week’s big stories, including clear signals in Austria, snow in Switzerland and Sweden’s most hapless burglar And so Theresa May heads off on a trade jolly to meet China’s President Xi Jinping when ideally she needs to be at home facing down growing disquiet among the ranks – both in and […]

Ukip’s embattled leader has admitted he was wrong to claim he had a degree from Sandhurst, but said it was no worse than giving the wrong result of an egg and spoon race. Henry Bolton listed a BA from the military academy on his profile on networking site LinkedIn. But after Channel 4 News pointed […]

Former Tory minister Anna Soubry has launched a scathing attack on her Hard Brexiteer colleagues, saying they would destroy the party and the prime minister to get the Brexit they wanted. The leading Remain rebel pulled no punches, saying that 35 of her colleagues had been “banging on about Europe” for decades in a way […]

Leaked government documents which indicate that any outcome from Brexit would be negative for the UK economy will be released if the Commons insists on it, Downing Street has said. The move is in stark contrast to comments made en route to China by prime minister Theresa May who said making the analysis public before […]

One in 10 posts in specialist mental health services are vacant and Brexit is set to make recruitment more difficult, the Mental Health Network has said. The stark warning is issued by the organisation, which represents 93% of statutory mental health trusts in England, in its Brexit and mental health briefing. It warns the two […]

The “clueless” government is pursuing an “I haven’t got a clue Brexit”, a Labour peer has said. Lord Liddle, a former Europe adviser to Tony Blair, said “this Bill is a dagger to my heart”, adding that he was overcome by a sense of shame that “over decades our political leadership failed to make the […]

Ministers urgently need to strike a deal with the European Union on data and information sharing after Brexit, two former spy chiefs have warned. Ex-MI6 chief Sir John Sawers and Robert Hannigan, the former director of GCHQ, said it was essential the UK continued to have access to intelligence about terrorists and other “bad actors” […]

The SNP has accused the government of being “prepared to make everyone poorer” and called for leadership over Brexit. Ian Blackford, the party’s leader at Westminster, spoke out after leaked analysis showed the economy would not grow as much as current forecasts predict under a number of scenarios for the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. […]

Betty Boothroyd has urged peers to use the “entire arsenal of our powers” over Brexit legislation to “limit the damage” to Parliament and the national interest. The former Commons speaker said she could not recall “a comparable crisis of such prolonged intensity and danger to the national interest”, adding that, having campaigned for Remain, she […]

The United Kingdom is a country profoundly divided by class, place, age and values, a comprehensive academic report on Brexit and public opinion reveals today. The report by The UK in a Changing Europe, based at King’s College London, has uncovered deep divisions in British society 19 months after the EU referendum which it warns […]

Brexit minister Steve Baker has been accused of insulting civil servants after claiming their forecasts are always wrong. The FDA, which represents senior public servants, said it was extraordinary that a minister should tell the Commons he would not believe analysis carried out in Whitehall. Quizzed by MPs about leaked assessments on the impact of […]

A former top Whitehall civil servant has said landmark Brexit legislation “strikes a dagger” to his soul. Independent crossbencher Lord Butler of Brockwell, who headed the civil service for a decade, also issued a stark warning over Britain’s “illusory quest for independence” as it is “carried along on a tide of narrow nationalism”. However, he […]

A former Liberal Democrat leader has accused Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg of threatening the Lords over Brexit. Lord Campbell of Pittenweem even dubbed the leading Conservative Hard Brexiteer “Robespierre” after one of the most influential figures of the French Revolution. Prominent backbencher Mr Rees-Mogg, the bookmakers’ favourite to be the next Tory leader, has said […]

House of Cards author Lord Dobbs has warned fellow peers it would be “sad and unwise” to try to sabotage what he dubbed “the People’s Brexit”. The Tory said while the role of the House of Lords was to advise and improve legislation, it was not to “obstruct or overturn”. Speaking at the second reading […]

A Labour former minister has accused his party leadership of putting “tribe before country” over Brexit. Lord Rooker told peers there were factions in both Labour and the Tories who had more in common with each other than their party leaders on the issue. He also said he could consider joining a political movement led […]

A Tory former minister has called on the government to consider banning referendums, calling the 2016 EU vote “the most sordid political campaign I can remember in my lifetime”. Lord Higgins urged his frontbench colleagues to speed up the Brexit process by making its own amendments to the Bill to address issues raised by the […]

Labour former Cabinet minister Lord Mandelson has warned against the government taking the UK out of the EU in “just about any vandalistic way it chooses”. In the marathon Lords debate on the EU (Withdrawal) Bill, Lord Mandelson said the only way to maintain “frictionless” trade was to enter the European Economic Area. Highlighting Cabinet […]

International trade secretary Liam Fox’s warning that some Tories will “have to live with disappointment” has drawn a sharp rebuke from fellow leading Brexiteer Iain Duncan Smith. After days of Tory turmoil over the government’s Brexit strategy and questions over whether Theresa May can remain as prime minister, Dr Fox called for an end to […]

Theresa May is facing demands to publish the government’s latest Brexit analysis following a report it had concluded Britain would be worse off whatever deal is struck with Brussels. As the prime minister prepared to fly out on a three-day trade mission to China, opposition MPs said the public were entitled to know the true […]