Brexit news latest: DUP dismisses Michel Barnier proposal as Theresa May says EU withdrawal could be cancelled if deal rejected
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Theresa May pleaded with her EU counterparts to give ground in a key speech just days before MPs vote on her Brexit deal.
Speaking in Grimsby on Friday, the prime minister said “no one knows” what will happen if her plan is rejected, warning Brexiteers: “We may never leave at all”.
Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier reacted to Ms May’s speech in a series of tweets. He said the UK would have the unilateral right to leave the customs union, but also made clear Northern Ireland would have to stay inside it.
However, the apparent concession was dismissed by the DUP as neither “realistic nor sensible”. Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay suggested the EU plan was simply a return to an earlier version of the backstop which had already been rejected.
Ms May accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of supporting “a divisive second referendum that would take the UK right back to square one”.
Mr Corbyn fired back by warning the prime minister not to make a third attempt to ram through her deal if it’s defeated next week, saying it must be “the end of the road”.
Here's how the day unfolded:
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According to a new poll by The Irish Times published this morning, voters in Northern Ireland "overwhelmingly reject" a hard Brexit - and would rather remain in the EU.
Significantly, two thirds of those polled said the Democratic Unionst Party (DUP) - responsible for propping up Theresa May's government - is doing a bad job of representing the people of Northern Ireland at Westminster.
A further 69 per cent of people are also dissatisfied with party's leader, Arlene Foster.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said Theresa May's speech today sounded like "a sign of desperation".
Speaking during a visit to the Holloway prison site in north London where new homes are set to be built, he said: "We will not be supporting her deal next Tuesday - we will be voting to take no-deal off the table and we will once again be putting our proposals - our five pillars - which are a customs union, market access and protection of rights in this country that have been obtained through the EU.
"I've taken those proposals to the European Union - they are a good basis for negotiation - they are a way forward. It's time that she got on board and recognised there is a deal that could command a majority in the House."
Theresa May spoke by phone with her counterparts from Bulgaria, Denmark and Portugal on Thursday evening and is expected to make further calls to EU leaders over the coming days, Downing Street said in a briefing to journalists this morning.
A Number 10 spokeswoman said the conversations involved the changes Britain is seeking to the backstop as well as issues such as the status of expat citizens after Brexit.
The PM is expected to work through the weekend on Brexit from her Maidenhead constituency home, and there are currently no plans for her to travel to Brussels, the spokeswoman added.
Theresa May is expected to make a speech on Brexit in Grimsby shortly. We have previewed her words here.
The PM is on her feet now.
She says MPs face a crucial choice next week - whether the back the Brexit deal and leave the EU or to face uncertainty. She says it could mean Brexit does not happen at all.
The only certainty would be ongoing uncertainty, she says. Months more of arguing about Brexit, rather than getting on with sorting out the NHS and other areas the public cares about.
She says MPs are voting on the public's behalf and they need to remember it.
Discussions with the EU have been 'robust' she says - which is politician-speak for fiery.
Everyone wants to get this done now and move on, to allow the country to make a success of the future, Theresa May says.
She says she is making this speech to explain why the debate is 'dragging on' and she has chosen Grimsby as a location because it was a predominantly Leave-voting area.
Immigration was a key part of the debate. Her deal ends free movement and takes back control of Britain's borders.
She says it also allows the UK to strike its own trade deals, to leave the Common Agricultural Policy and to take back control of the UK's fishing waters.
This is what people voted for and this is why she made it her priority.
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