Boris Johnson news – LIVE: No 10 ‘cancels staff leave to prepare for no-deal’ as fears of chaotic Brexit mount
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Jeremy Corbyn called on cabinet secretary Sir Mark Sedwill to rule that the prime minister cannot go ahead with a no-deal Brexit if there is a general election, saying it would be an “anti-democratic abuse of power”.
Andy McDonald, shadow cabinet secretary, called on Sir Mark to be the “voice of sanity” if Boris Johnson tries to push ahead with no deal despite losing a confidence vote in the Commons.
It came as transport minister George Freeman suggested a no-deal exit would be an “absolute disaster” which would keep the Tories “out of office for two decades”. The Conservatives were accused of “breaking the economy” after GDP figures showed the UK economy shrank.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan warned Boris Johnson the Metropolitan Police is "under-resourced and over-stretched" and needs more police officers urgently to deal with knife crime.
His plea to the prime minister came just days after a 28-year-old policeman was seriously injured when he was attacked by a man with a machete in Leyton, east London.
And foreign secretary Dominic Raab called for an independent investigation into recent events in Hong Kong during a phone call with the city's chief executive.
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Boris Johnson spoke for two minutes on Facebook Live yesterday, something he is thought to be planning to do a lot more.
Our political sketch writer Tom Peck was not clicking ‘like’. Here’s his take on the PM’s latest media strategy.
The chancellor Sajid Javid has responded to the news that the UK economy has shrunk.
He claimed the “fundamentals of the British economy are strong” and said he had announced an accelerated spending round “so ministers can focus on delivering Brexit”.
Commenting on the GDP figures, Labour MP Wes Streeting, a leading supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, said: “The economic damage being done by Brexit is real and it is happening now.
“This is not a projection or a forecast – these are the real-life consequence of the Brexit crisis, and they are being felt in our public services, businesses up and down the land and in the pockets of the vast majority of people in this country.
“Having already cost more than £500m a week in lost growth since 2016, Brexit is now actively shrinking the UK economy, putting us just one negative quarter away from a recession. It is making our country poorer, deterring investment, shrinking our currency and leaving less money for our national priorities the NHS.
“This is the real cost of Brexit. In 2016, Leave campaigners including Boris Johnson promised Brexit would lead to ‘sunlit uplands’ and a stronger economy. The reality is the exact opposite.”
Boris Johnson has announced plans to fast-track visas for the world’s top scientists.
But Nobel laureate Sir Andre Geim has warned that plunging Britain out of the EU could create turmoil, saying “scientists are not fools”. Here’s Ashley Cowburn with more on the row.
Linguistic experts have evaluated recent prime ministers attempts at speaking foreign languages when they give speeches in Europe.
Boris Johnson generally approaches foreign languages with “gusto”, with his French being the most highly rated of any living PM, according to the linguists at Babbel.
However, Johnson’s German “while always full of confidence, leaves a little to be desired”. With 83 days until Brexit, there might not be too many more opportunities to make European speeches for the PM.
More evidence of a Lib Dem surge? Jo Swinson’s party narrowly defeated the Tories to take a council seat in the latest local election, while the Conservatives regained a seat from Labour.
The Lib Dem victory came by just 56 votes in a by-election at Worcester Council in the Claines ward following the death of a Tory councillor.
The Tories, meanwhile, regained a seat on East Northamptonshire Council by 64 votes in a contest in the Irthlingborough Waterloo ward following the resignation of a Labour councillor who had been elected previously as Conservative.
As you may know if you’ve read Tom Peck’s piece from earlier today, Boris Johnson has begun speaking to the nation directly using Facebook Live.
The prime minister wants to go further still, and is planning to start a series of “People’s PMQs” where he will answer questions from voters through social media live streams.
Here’s our political correspondent Lizzy Buchan with the details.
As speculation grows about a No 10 plan to hold a general election in early November, Michael Gove has apparently raised the prospect of holding a bank holiday on 1 November in a meeting with business leaders.
The cabinet minister in charge of no deal planning said the government would consider the idea because of concerns exiting without a deal on 31 October would cause financial turmoil the following day, according to The Times.
No 10 told the newspaper creating a new bank holiday for the day was not government policy.
Other ideas reportedly discussed in Gove’s meeting included business leaders being kept up to date with the latest no deal plans via a Whatsapp group.
Our associate editor Sean O’Grady thinks the Labour leadership has employed “unexpectedly smart tactics” by writing to the cabinet secretary. Here’s why.
Chancellor Sajid Javid is in hard hat and high-vis vest mode for a visit to the National Grid Training Centre outside Newark.
He will be facing questions today about the dismal GDP figures: the UK's economy shrank for the first time since 2012 in the second quarter of this year, as the manufacturing and construction sectors both slumped.
Sajid Javid at the National Grid Training Centre (PA)
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