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Boris Johnson news – live: PM apologises for failing to deliver his ‘do or die’ Brexit, as Tory MP steps down amid groping claims

Conservative leader says failure to leave EU in October is matter of ‘deep regret’

Conrad Duncan,Vincent Wood
Sunday 03 November 2019 18:45 GMT
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Boris Johnson has apologised to voters for failing to take the UK out of the EU by 31 October and called the Brexit extension a matter of “deep regret”.

In an interview on Sky News this morning, the prime minister also refused to say what is the naughtiest thing he has ever done after he was asked the question that stumped Theresa May in 2017.

Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has announced that he will not be standing as an MP in the December election but said he would not be standing down Brexit Party candidates to help the Conservatives win a majority.

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Earlier today, a senior Treasury minister refused to deny suggestions that the threat of a no-deal Brexit would not appear in the Tory manifesto.

Rishi Sunak, the chief secretary of the Treasury, was asked by Andrew Marr if no-deal was now off the table.

He told the BBC presenter: 

“I'm not going to comment on the manifesto specifically.

“But what I would say is the prime minister has spent all this time and energy negotiating a deal ... and that's the deal we will put in place and deliver if we're elected with a majority.”

On Saturday, Nigel Farage criticised Boris Johnson after it was suggested the prime minister could drop no-deal as an option.

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 12:02

Here’s a story you might have missed this morning with all the news from Mr Johnson and Mr Farage.

Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson’s senior adviser, is facing questions over his links to Russia after a whistleblower raised “serious concerns” about his time there in the 1990s.

The whistleblower has apparently contacted Labour about their concerns and Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, has written to the cabinet secretary and the heads of MI5 and MI6 to ask what level of security vetting Mr Cummings has.

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 12:14

There is a divide growing in pro-Leave circles about what role the Brexit Party should play in the general election.

Mr Farage has said he will not stand down Brexit Party candidates to help Mr Johnson win a majority and took out a double-page ad arguing against the prime minister’s deal in the Sunday Express today.

However, there is also a letter from Leave.EU co-founder Arron Banks in the Express this morning criticising Mr Farage’s plan.

Mr Banks has said he expects the Brexit Party to lose support as it has “misread public opinion” and described Mr Johnson’s deal as “acceptable”.

He added:

“I think Nigel needs to step back and be more strategic. The announcement he will stand candidates in every seat unless Boris forms a pact with him is unnecessarily belligerent…

“The correct Brexit Party strategy would be to target 40 to 50 seats in the North, Wales and the Midlands where the Tories can’t possibly win but the Brexit Party might do well.

“He should announce unilaterally in the national interest that the Brexit Party won’t stand where it can’t win.”

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 12:28

Nicola Sturgeon has responded directly to Mr Johnson’s refusal to allow a second referendum on Scottish independence if he wins the forthcoming general election.

The SNP leader described the prime minister’s position as “unsustainable and undemocratic” and called on the media to scrutinise opposition to a second vote.

The 2014 Scottish independence referendum saw 55 per cent voting against leaving the UK.

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 12:37

For more details on the possibility of Labour scrapping the expansion of Heathrow Airport, you can read our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn’s piece below:

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 12:44

A pro-Brexit rally in Doncaster has apparently gone very badly.

According to The Star newspaper, a rally that was billed as a “huge” pro-Brexit demonstration has caused confusion this morning after no-one turned up.

However, the organiser has said he pulled the event at the last minute, citing a lack of donations, and will be reorganising it for a later date.

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 12:54

Jeremy Corbyn has said climate change will be a big part of Labour’s general election campaign.

At the launch of the party’s Warm Homes for All initiative (a plan to provide energy-saving upgrades to almost every home in the UK), Mr Corbyn told reporters:

“The green industrial revolution, which we're promoting, will retrofit homes, will create a sustainable energy network in this country, will be a massive contribution of what we've signed up to through the Paris climate change accord…

“We cannot go on standing by while climate warming increases, we cannot go on seeing our biodiversity destroyed and diminished.”

The Labour leader also echoed John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, by suggesting his party would scrap plans for a third runway at Heathrow.

 Mr Corbyn said the expansion proposal needs to “meet all the requests and requirements on noise, on pollution, [and] on CO2 emissions.”

Additional reporting by PA

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 13:06

Mr Corbyn has said the government’s decision to end the benefits freeze and ban fracking shows the “power” of Labour’s message.

The leader of the opposition added that he would welcome the lifting of the benefits freeze but criticised the government for continuing with

Universal Credit – the controversial benefits payment system.

“We have to have a much more humane, humanitarian system,” Mr Corbyn said.

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 13:19

The Sunday Times has reported that Tory HQ has analysis which shows the current polls would translate into a Conservative majority of 40 to 70 seats.

However, it comes with a major caveat – the number is based off a model requested by Dominic Cummings that barely anyone has seen…

Rob Ford, professor of political science at the University of Manchester, appears to be unimpressed by the claim.

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 14:09

On the topic of internal polls - Nick Hargrave, a former Downing Street special adviser to both David Cameron and Theresa May, has offered some advice to Conservatives from his experience with election campaigns.

His first piece of advice? Don’t share your internal campaign research with journalists…

Mr Hargrave sees the problems for the Conservative Party as similar to those in 2017, when the Tory’s early lead almost entirely disappeared by polling day.

Conrad Duncan3 November 2019 14:24

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