Boris Johnson news: Corbyn urges Tory MPs to help block no-deal Brexit after opposition leaders agree plan at crunch meeting
Follow how the day at Westminster unfolded
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Your support makes all the difference.Jeremy Corbyn and other opposition leaders have agreed to try to stop a no-deal Brexit through legislation after efforts to install a caretaker prime minister floundered.
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer has said it was time to “put aside fantasy politics” and find a strategy to enact “straight away” when parliament returns.
It comes as Boris Johnson prepares to create half a dozen new pro-Brexit peers to redress perceived Remain bias in the House of Lords.
The PM is sending his “sherpa” David Frost to Brussels this week to try to negotiate an alternative to the backstop with the EU.
Mr Johnson also told Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, that Britain will leave without a deal unless the backstop is “abolished”.
Boris Johnson has also responded to the opposition leaders’ agreement.
The editor of Channel 4 News has said the broadcaster is in talks with No 10 to resolve a dispute between the parties.
Ben de Pear said access to politicians was “vital to achieve balance”.
It follows a decision by No 10 to cancel a scheduled interview with Boris Johnson – which came after the head of Dorothy Byrne, C4’s head of news and current affairs, called the prime minister a “known liar”.
Some 160 MPs have signed a symbolic declaration to support stopping a no-deal Brexit “using whatever mechanism possible”.
Meeting at Church House in Westminster – the meeting place of the Houses of Parliament during the Second World War – the MPs signed what they are calling the Church House Declaration.
Senior opposition politicians including shadow chancellor John McDonnell, Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson, SNP Westminster leader Ian Blackford, Plaid Cymru Commons leader Liz Saville Roberts, Green Party MP Caroline Lucas and
Change UK leader Anna Soubry were at the ceremony.
McDonnell said Boris Johnson was a “threat to democracy” through not ruling out proroguing Parliament to push through a no-deal Brexit.
Independent MP Luciana Berger and Labour MP Stephen Doughty convened the meeting. Doughty said the declaration has “160 signatures” from MPs and he invited other politicians of all parties to join them in signing the document.
Agreement between opposition parties might be the theme of the day, but there is still confusion about what might happen a few steps down the line.
Plenty of people noticed the suggestion by Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer that the party would campaign to remain in the EU in “any outcome” – despite Jeremy Corbyn repeatedly saying Labour would support Remain if the alternatives were a Conservative Brexit deal or no-deal.
Benjamin Kentish picks apart the latest statements.
Following the cross-party talks, Mr Corbyn said: "We are putting first the legislative proposal next week and that's what the agreement was reached this morning to do, that's what we are doing.
"The motion of no confidence will be put, by me, at an appropriate time but obviously not the first item next Tuesday because I believe it's important that we get on with a legislative process which prevents the prime minister acting in defiance of the will of parliament - which was demonstrated by an enormous majority saying that 'we do not believe this country should crash out without a deal'.
"The prime minister needs to respect parliament and understand the role of parliament is to question and challenge the executive."
Mr Corbyn said the other party leaders had agreed he would "put forward a proposal which will make sure that Parliament is able to debate a legislative way of preventing the Government crashing us out with no deal".
He said: "I will propose the parliamentary process which would mean the legislation can be laid.
"The legislation will be laid by people from all of the opposition parties and will be supported by some Conservative MPs as well."
Asked if he thought Theresa May and Philip Hammond would work with him on efforts to block no-deal he said: "They will get the letter just like everyone else and I hope that they will reflect that they voted against no-deal, as indeed I did, as indeed many, many other colleagues did from all parties, because crashing out without a deal I think would be very bad for our economy and be quite disastrous for many industries and jobs in this country."
The Labour leader insisted the option of a motion of no confidence in Mr Johnson was still alive despite critics' opposition to him becoming an interim prime minister.
"It's nothing to do with whether people like me or not," he said. "The priority is to ensure we don't crash out of the EU. And we will put a motion of no confidence at a time of our choosing.
"All the parliamentary precedence is that when you have a government collapsing, the Leader of the Opposition takes over in an interim process in order to bring about and facilitate a change in the future, ie through a general election.
"But our absolute priority is to prevent this crashing out into the arms of Donald Trump."
Following the cross-party talks, Liberal Democrat leader Jo Swinson said: "This was a positive meeting with a clear objective to stop the nightmare that is no-deal Brexit, which the government have admitted will lead to medicine and food shortages.
"I am pleased the meeting focused on a legislative route which we have agreed is the best way forward and are now looking at all the scenarios to deliver this. There will be further meetings over the next few days across all groups in parliament.
"There is clear understanding that Boris Johnson is a prime minister who is prepared to rob both the people and parliament of a say over a no-deal Brexit.
"The Liberal Democrats will continue to pursue what we believe is the best future for our country, which is to stop Brexit and remain in the European Union."
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