Brexit news: US warns chlorinated chicken must be on the table for trade deal as UK urged to unite on eve of ‘dark day’
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US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has said chlorinated chicken must be part of a post-Brexit trade deal, after dodging questions on the US suspect in the death of British teenager Harry Dunn.
It comes as Liberal Democrat acting leader Sir Ed Davey urged Remain voters to come together with the rest of the country after Britain’s “dark day” on Friday, as the nation prepares to leave the EU.
Meanwhile, chancellor Sajid Javid was expected to throw his weight behind the controversial HS2 rail project at a meeting with Boris Johnson and transport secretary Grant Shapps.
To follow events as they unfolded, see our live coverage below
Farage explained merits of populism to EU parliament – just after Auschwitz survivor spoke
The Brexit Party leader, making his farewell-and-up-yours speech in Brussels, raved about how populism was taking over.
“There is a battle going on, in the west and elsewhere. It is globalism against populism. And you may loathe populism, but I’ll tell you a funny thing, it’s becoming very popular,” he told them.
It came scarcely more than an hour after the chamber had heard from 89-year-old Auschwitz survivor, Liliana Segre.
Our sketch writer Tom Peck has more:
Special Brexit coins on sale for hundreds of pounds
You know those 50p Brexit coins? How do you fancy paying £945 for one?
A set of commemorative coins – inscribed with the word: “Peace, prosperity and friendship with all nations” – are to be put on sale by the Royal Mint.
The gold version, produced in a limited edition of 1,500, is priced at just under a cool grand.
More details here:
HS2 ‘catastrophic waste of money’ says Tory MP
Backbench Conservative MPs have been asking questions – and airing their views – on HS2 in the House of Commons.
Philip Davies said: “If the government were to scrap HS2 – which everyone knows is a catastrophic waste of money – there would have a huge amount available for more rail infrastructure in west Yorkshire and across the north.
The Shipley MP asked: “When the government’s intended timetable for completing Northern powerhouse rail?
Responding for the government, transport minister Chris Heaton-Harris said the government was “spending a huge amount of money improving the infrastructure in the north”.
He added: “HS2 and various other bits of infrastructure are not either/or – they are additional investments.”
Philip Davies speaking in the Commons (Parliament TV)
Thornberry: Trump peace plan ‘a monstrosity’
MPs are now discussing Donald Trump’s Middle East “peace plan” in the Commons.
Labour leadership hopeful Emily Thornberry has condemned the president’s blueprint. “This is not a peace plan, it is a monstrosity,” she said, adding that it “destroys any prospects of an independent … Palestinian state”.
The shadow foreign secretary referred to Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu as “corrupt, racist, power-crazed leaders”.
Thornberry also apologised to SNP MPs for her language at a recent hustings (she said “I hate the SNP”).
The Labour hopeful said: “There is no place for hatred in our politics … We have opposed the Tory government, and I apologise for what I said.”
Are Brexit tribes more united than they realise?
“Remainers” and “Leavers” may have more in common than they think and talk of deep-rooted divisions may be overblown, a study has suggested.
The report by researchers from the Universities of Bath and Essex shows that 90 per cent of the time the two groups agree on important topics including poverty, climate change, housing and the importance of communities.
Even on subjects viewed as the most divisive – such as attitudes to immigration and national identity – they showed more than 50 per cent “similarity”.
Lead researcher Dr Paul Hanel, from the University of Essex, said: “It has been claimed the EU referendum of June 2016 revealed a divided, rather than a United Kingdom, with growing tensions among those who voted ‘leave’ and those who voted ‘remain’.
“Previous research has concentrated on the differences between the two sides, but our study shows that in fact there is more to unite them than divide them.”
A mural on Brexit by Banksy found in Dover (AFP)
Government ‘working urgently’ with Chinese authorities on flights for British nationals in Wuhan
The government is doing “everything it can” to bring British nationals trapped in corona virus-hit Wuhan back to the UK, No 10 has said.
The PM’s official spokesman said around 200 people were waiting to be repatriated and the government was working closely with the Chinese authorities to get the necessary permissions for the plane to leave.
The spokesman told a Westminster briefing: “We are doing everything we can to get British people in Wuhan safely back to the UK.
“A number of countries flights have been unable to take off as planned including the British repatriation from Wuhan. We are working urgently with the Chinese authorities to make sure the flight can take off as soon as possible.”
The UK has not received the “necessary clearances” for the flight to take off, the spokesman said.
Once returned to the UK, people will be taken into quarantine at an NHS facility in an unnamed location.
No10 does not rule out overturning Javid over HS2
Downing Street declined to rule out Boris Johnson overruling Chancellor Sajid Javid, who is set to back HS2.
"The decision on HS2 is an important decision for the country and it will be taken based on the facts," the PM's official spokesman said.
Asked whether Mr Johnson could overrule the Chancellor, the spokesman replied: "It's an important decision that will be taken based on the facts and we will announce it when we are ready."
Brexit secretary entitled to redundancy as PM to visit staff ahead of department closure
Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, and other ministers will lose their jobs at 11.01pm on Friday as the UK leaves the EU. They will entitled to a redundancy package - under usual rules - but it will be up to them to decide whether to take it.
Boris Johnson is to meet with Department for Exiting the European Union staff on Thursday to thank them before the department is dissolved.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman said Mr Johnson wrote to the workers before the afternoon meeting.
"I want to take this opportunity to thank each of you for your hard work over the last three and a half years," the PM wrote.
"Your contribution and that of the department has been vital for getting us to this moment.
"Some of you will have joined near the very beginning of the journey, and others more recently, but without your combined efforts we would not be where we are today."
US Secretary of State says UK will be 'front of the line' for a post-Brexit trade deal
Warm words on Brexit from Mike Pompeo - despite the tensions of the UK's decision to allow Huawei to build part of its 5G network.
“The previous administration took the view that if the United Kingdom made this decision it would be at the back of the line. We intend to put the United Kingdom at the front of the line,” Mr Pompeo told a Policy Exchange event in Westminster.
Mr Pompeo said the US wanted to “lower every barrier” to trade during negotiations with the UK.
He said: “An important part of this relationship is reducing the friction between these kinds of things, whether it is the friction of the ease of travel, it's the ease of exchange or confidence in information systems, of our students going to each other's schools and the cross-generation of knowledge that will flow from that, whether it is tariff barriers.
“We want to put all the places where friction happens across sovereign boundaries - we want to protect those boundaries because we owe it to our people to do, but once we've done that, once we've protected sovereignty, we want to lower every barrier towards the free flow of information, talent, capital - all the things that promote wealth and prosperity.
“Those and security. Those are the things that, if we do this well together, will be special and unique about the relationship after the United Kingdom finishes this process of departure from the EU.”
Dominic Raab with Mike Pompeo at Policy Exchange event (Getty)
Pompeo dodges questions on extradition of US diplomat over death of British teenager.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has dodged questions over why an American woman wanted for trial over the death of a British teenager has been allowed to “evade justice” by returning to the United States.
Pompeo caused fury in the UK by declining an extradition request for intelligence officer’s wife Anne Sacoolas, who is facing a charge of causing the death of 19-year-old Harry Dunn in Northamptonshire by dangerous driving last year.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab last night expressed “disappointment” over the decision during talks with Pompeo on the first day of a two-day visit to London.
Pompeo was confronted directly about the Sacoolas case when he appeared on-stage with Mr Raab at a event in London, where he was asked: “Can you explain to us what is it about the special relationship that allows a US citizen to run over and kill an English boy and evade justice.”
The US secretary of state ducked the question, replying: “This was an enormous tragedy. An American had an accident here. The US is terribly sorry for the tragedy that took place and the loss of a British citizen’s life. It was horrible.
“We are doing everything we can to make it right. We are doing so in a way that I think protects the important relationship between the two countries as well.
“We will continue to work on this. Dominic raised this yesterday when we spoke. He has raised it each time we have spoken since it happened.
“We will continue to work our way through it to try to get a good resolution, a resolution that reflects the tragedy that took place that day.”
Later, the foreign secretary said he had never had any conversations about whether Prince Andrew could be traded for Sacoolas to assist the FBI investigation into the prince’s former friend Jeffrey Epstein.
Pompeo said he was “confident each of these cases will be resolved on their relative merits”.
Raab added: “I totally agree. There’s no barter, it’s a rules-based approach. That's what the treaty does. And we both see the extradition treaty works for both sides.”
He said it had never been raised with him before.
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