Boris Johnson news – live: EU reveals no Brexit talks arranged despite no-deal threat as PM ‘absolutely’ rules out calling election before 31 October
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The EU has revealed that no Brexit talks are currently scheduled with Boris Johnson‘s government, despite Britain being on course to leave the bloc without a deal in less than three months.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said they had “no further announcements” to make about future negotiations.
Later on Friday evening, Mr Johnson received a call from Donald Trump, the US president, in which the pair agreed to begin free trade talks as soon as the UK leaves the EU, Downing Street said.
A spokesperson said the two world leaders discussed the “unparalleled” trade opportunities offered by Brexit.
It came after Mr Johnson suffered a blow to his efforts to woo hardline Brexiteers when a senior Eurosceptic MP snubbed his offer of a government job.
However, he may have more success in other areas of recruitment, as insiders said he had requested a dog to join him in No10.
The new prime minister is understood to raised the idea with staff when he addressed them on his arrival and received an enthusiastic response.
Follow how the day in Westminster unfolded
The EU’s chief negotiator has dismissed Boris Johnson‘s latest Brexit plan just hours after he unveiled it to MPs.
In an email to member states seen by The Independent, Michel Barnier said the proposal unveiled by Mr Johnson on Thursday afternoon was “of course unacceptable” as it crossed red lines laid down by EU leaders.
More from our Europe correspondent Jon Stone:
Jeremy Corbyn is in Liverpool today, where he will announce a £3.5bn investment in tidal power as part of Labour green industry agenda.
The party is championing a "Green Industrial Revolution" to address the climate emergency and boost investment in the north of England, hoping to generate hundreds of thousands of jobs.
On his visit, the Labour leader will accuse Boris Johnson of looking to the past with his failed policies of tax cuts for big businesses and the rich and neglect of Britain’s communities.
The Mersey Tidal Power Project will harness the power of the River Mersey and Liverpool Bay to produce clean, renewable energy to power up to a million homes, create thousands of jobs and contribute toward the UK’s zero-carbon economy.
Mr Corbyn said: “Reversing years of neglect of the towns and cities of the North under the Tories means rejecting the failed economic status quo and investing in our communities and industries of the future.
“While Boris Johnson looks to the past and prioritises the interests of his wealthy friends, Labour is looking to the future with plans to ramp up investment in exciting projects like the Mersey Tidal Power Project, which will kick-start Labour’s Green Industrial Revolution, power up the north and create thousands of new jobs."
Ex-chief whip Julian Smith was appointed as new Northern Ireland secretary on Wednesday night - after working closely with the DUP on the confidence and supply agreement that propped up Theresa May's government.
Smith has flown to Belfast to meet politicians at Stormont and is due in Derry this afternoon. He's also met the Irish tanaiste Simon Coveney.
A leading US television news host has delivered a brutal assessment of Boris Johnson, saying Britain now faces a “level of chaos … not seen since World War II.”
Lawrence O’Donnell, host of the MSNBC network’s The Last Word, could barely contain his astonishment at the “crazy” process that allowed the Tory MP to take power after “just over one-tenth of one per cent of the British population” voted in the leadership contest.
The veteran anchor attacked Mr Johnson for offering “impossible” promises and said he was someone who did not “distinguish between fact and fiction”.
Boris Johnson's plan is to say "Believe in Brexit" in lots of different ways, writes chief political commentator John Rentoul...
There are currently no meetings scheduled between the EU and Boris Johnson's government, a European Commission spokesperson has said.
Mr Johnson and Jean-Claude Juncker, the outgoing president of the Commission, spoke by phone on Thursday discussed the possibility of new negotiations, but the spokesperson said: "I have no further announcements in terms of timing or planning of that to announce today."
Nancy Pelosi, the speaker of the US House of Representatives, has warned Boris Johnson that Congress will block any UK-US trade deal that would lead to a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
She told the Irish Times:
“We made it clear in our conversations with senior members of the Conservative Party earlier this year that there should be no return to a hard border on the island. That position has not changed. Any trade deal between the US and Great Britain would have to be cognisant of that.
Boris Johnson is planning to move a dog into Downing Street, sources have revealed.
The new PM raised the idea with staff when he addressed them on his arrival at Number 10 and received an enthusiastic response.
Insiders said there were no plans to get rid of Larry the Downing Street cat, but acknowledged that care would have to be taken to ensure his new flatmate is able to “get along” with feline company.
Mr Johnson and animal-loving partner Carrie are set to move into the flat above 11 Downing Street next week, with chancellor Sajid Javid taking the smaller accommodation over Number 10. They are currently using a flat in Admiralty House while Theresa May’s possessions are moved out of Downing Street.
There was no confirmation of the breed of dog Mr Johnson would prefer, though aides said it would be a rescue dog and not a puppy, to avoid the need for house-training.
Larry was appointed chief mouser to the Cabinet Office when brought to Downing Street in 2011 as a pet for the children of David and Samantha Cameron and was was kept in post by Ms May when she arrived in office in 2016.
He has become a familiar part of the government machinery, featuring in regular newspaper photographs, postcards and even a book.
A Twitter feed started in his name has won more than 300,000 followers with its acerbic commentary on Number 10’s human occupants and Larry’s rivalry with Palmerston the Foreign Office cat.
Boris Johnson spoke to Emmanuel Macron, the French president, by phone last night, Downing Street said.
Mr Johnson's spokesman said the new prime minister had made clear that the Northern Ireland backstop would have to be removed from the current Withdrawal Agreement if a Brexit deal is to be approved by parliament.
The spokesman said:
"The purpose of the call was to congratulate the prime minister. They did discuss Brexit.
"When the prime minister has these conversations with fellow leaders and the discussion moves onto Brexit, he will be setting out the same message which he delivered in the House of Commons yesterday.
"He wants to do a deal. He will be energetic in trying to seek that deal but the Withdrawal Agreement has been rejected three times by the House of Commons. It is not going to pass.
"That means reopening the Withdrawal Agreement and securing the abolition of the backstop."
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