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’
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Your support makes all the difference.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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On Monday, MPs will be voting for a new Speaker of the House of Commons to replace John Bercow.
Harriet Harman, the former deputy leader of the Labour Party, and Sir Lindsay Hoyle, Mr Bercow’s most senior deputy, are the frontrunners at the moment but Chris Bryant could cause an upset.
The Labour MP has revealed a list of the MPs who nominated him, including some interesting names – such as John McDonnell, Michael Gove and Caroline Lucas.
A Conservative party candidate has apologised after writing that people on the reality TV show Benefits Street should be "put down".
The Guardian reports that Francesca O'Brien, who is standing for the party in Gower, south Wales, wrote a serious of comments on her personal Facebook account in relation to the show in January 2014.
"My blood is boiling, these people need putting down,” she wrote in the now deleted post.
She told the paper: “These comments were made off the cuff, a number of years ago. However, I accept that my use of language was unacceptable and I would like to apologise for any upset I have caused.”
The conservatives have chosen Ed Barker - a saxophonist who played solo on tour with George Michael - to stand in Derby South.
He might have a bit of a challenge on his hands though. The seat has been held by Margaret Beckett since 1983 and has only ever been a Labour seat since its creation in 1950.
And while it's exactly the kind of seat the Tories are trying to target - working class and Brexit voting - Ms Beckett was returned with the largest majority of her parliamentary career in the 2017 election.
Labour moderate and Brexit committee chair Hilary Benn has said that given some of Brexit's most ardent supporters can't decide what Brexit means, it may be time to ask the people.
The MP, who most recently put a spanner in the works of government with the so-called Benn Amendment that forced Boris Johnson to seek a Brexit extension, made his comments after a fresh intervention from Nigel Farage.
The Brexit party leader came out in support of a Canada-style Free Trade Agreement deal with the EU yesterday, diverging from the deal that was brokered by Theresa May and refined by Boris Johnson.
Back to the Tory MP who apologised after writing that people on the reality TV show Benefits Street should be "put down" - and unsurprisingly there is plenty of condemnation online as well as calls for her candidacy to be revoked.
"This is absolutely disgusting and reveals the cruelty at the heart of the Tories’ benefits cuts", Labour's Angela Rayner said. "Universal credit was deliberately designed to punish people who are out of work."
Home Secretary Priti Patel is considering giving police powers to arrest trespassers who set up unauthorised caravan sites and seize their property.
The move would make such trespassing a criminal offence rather than controlled under civil law, as it is at present.
A consultation to be launched on Tuesday will seek the views of councils, police forces and travellers, the Government said.
Ms Patel said: "Unauthorised encampments can cause misery to those who live nearby, with reports of damage to property, noise, abuse and littering.
"The public want their communities protected and for the police to crack down on trespassers.
"Our proposals aim to ensure these encampments can be challenged and removed as quickly as possible."
The Ulster Unionist Party will step aside in North Belfast to allow Democratic Unionist deputy leader Nigel Dodds a clear run, it has been announced.
Incoming UUP leader Steve Aiken had been under pressure not to run a candidate in North Belfast, where Mr Dodds is expected to face a close contest with Sinn Fein's John Finucane.
Sinn Fein last week singled out Mr Dodds, who won a majority of just over 2,000 votes in North Belfast in 2017, as one of its key targets as it aims to increase its number of MPs from seven to eight.
UUP officials confirmed they had received death threats and intimidation after initially considering challenging the seat.
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