Boris Johnson news: Labour calls Swinson 'childish' after Lib Dem leader rejects Corbyn plan to thwart no-deal Brexit by becoming PM

Conservative MP breaks ranks to support plan as Brexit crisis continues

Jeremy Corbyn calls on opposition parties to make him caretaker PM

Jeremy Corbyn has challenged opposition parties and Tory rebels to instal him as caretaker prime minister so he can call a general election and prevent a no-deal Brexit under Boris Johnson.

Jo Swinson dismissed the plan as “nonsense”, saying the Labour leader could not unite opposition MPs, before proposing either Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman as a more suitable caretaker PM.

But Labour MPs rallied around the plan, urging Ms Swinson to reconsider her position.

The Lib Dem leader was branded “childish” by shadow education secretary Angela Rayner. The SNP, meanwhile, claimed they would work with Mr Corbyn, while a group of rebel Tory MPs said they were “happy to meet” him to discuss his plan.

Ms Swinson said she wanted to meet Mr Corbyn to discuss a solution to the Brexit crisis.

Meanwhile, the caretaker government plan has infuriated Tory MPs.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: "I think it's absolutely extraordinary that any Conservative MP considered even for one minute installing Jeremy Corbyn in Downing Street.

"Jeremy Corbyn would wreck our economy, he would destroy jobs and the livelihoods, savings, I think he also can't be trusted with security or crime and ... I just think that any Conservative should think very, very hard about doing this. It actually presents a very clear choice.

"You either have Jeremy Corbyn as prime minister overturning the result of the referendum or Boris Johnson respecting the referendum, putting more money into the NHS, more police on the streets to keep us all safe."

Conservative MP Guto Bebb did break ranks to support Mr Corbyn's plan.

If you would like to see how the day's news unfolded, please see what was our live coverage below:

[15 August 2019 09:57 · Adam Forrest]

If you missed this one, the Home Office has come under fire after launching an anti-knife crime campaign focused on fried chicken shops.

Diane Abbott said it was “crude” and “offensive”, while fellow Labour MP David Lammy tweeted: “What’s next, #knifefree watermelons?”

[15 August 2019 10:09 · Adam Forrest]

Liberal Democrats leader Jo Swinson has begun speaking at Code Node in central London – her first major speech as party leader.

She has said she is prepared to do “whatever it takes” to stop Brexit as she welcomed the party’s latest MP.

Swinson said she was “ready to work with anyone” to stop Boris Johnson and his “hardline Brexit Government” in her first major speech as party leader.

She praised Sarah Wollaston as a “formidable” MP and said: “I am so glad to have her by my side in our fight to stop Brexit.”

Swinson went on to say: “I'm determined to do whatever it takes to stop Brexit. I stand ready to work with anyone to stop Boris Johnson and his hardline Brexit government.”

Jo Swinson makes first major speech as Lib Dem leader (PA) 

[15 August 2019 10:22 · Adam Forrest]

Despite pledging to do “whatever it takes” to stop a no-deal Brexit, Jo Swinson doesn’t sound at all willing to put Jeremy Corbyn into No 10.

She has suggested that either Tory MP Ken Clarke or Labour MP Harriet Harman – who she describes as “the father and the mother of the House” – become caretaker PM.

[15 August 2019 10:30 · Adam Forrest]

If you’re wondering exactly how the SNP has responded to Jeremy Corbyn’s daring plan, the party’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford has said “the SNP stands ready to bring down this Tory government should Labour table a vote of no confidence motion”.

Blackford said he believes there is a majority in parliament against a no-deal Brexit.

“I think really what is important is we tackle the immediate crisis in front of us … and I do believe, I strongly believe, that there is a majority in parliament against no-deal,” he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He added: “I believe that when we get back to parliament in the first week of September that we can bring forward legislation, we can do it through a mechanism called a SO24 application to stop no-deal. And that is what we should be focusing on.

“It’s not about, in this immediate case, who is prime minister, it is about stopping that act of economic self-harm that all of us would suffer from.”

[15 August 2019 10:40 · Adam Forrest]

Could it be Jeremy Corbyn is ready to do a deal with the SNP? The Labour leader has told the BBC he would not want the UK parliament to block a second independence referendum.

[15 August 2019 10:56 · Adam Forrest]

Labour shadow chancellor John McDonnell has said rebel Tory MPs were among those who “responded positively” to Jeremy Corbyn’s offer.

[15 August 2019 11:11 · Adam Forrest]

More on Jo Swinson’s remarkable suggestion that Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman should be the caretaker PM in charge of any unity government.

“We are facing a national crisis,” she said during his speech. “We may need an emergency government to resolve it. But if Jeremy Corbyn truly wants that to succeed surely even he can see that he cannot lead it.

“There is no way he can unite rebel Conservatives and Independents to stop Boris Johnson. It is not even certain that he would secure all the votes of Labour MPs.

“This isn't about personalities, this is about having a plan that actually works. What we need in a leader of an emergency government is a long-serving Member of Parliament who is respected on both sides of the House.

“Someone like Ken Clarke or Harriet Harman - the father and mother of the House - they are hugely experienced and, unlike Jeremy Corbyn, or indeed myself, they are not seeking to lead a government in the long term.”

[15 August 2019 11:19 · Adam Forrest]

The Labour party’s chair Ian Lavery MP is angry, but not shocked, by Jo Swinson’s reluctance to meet with Jeremy Corbyn.

[15 August 2019 11:32 · Adam Forrest]

In response to Jeremy Corbyn’s proposal, Labour Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called on all opposition parties to “take this seriously” and “engage constructively”.

[15 August 2019 11:43 · Adam Forrest]

The Corbyn proposal is not good enough for Labour peer Andrew Adonis, a staunch opponent of Brexit. He would want the party’s leader to pivot “immediately” to a second Brexit referendum upon becoming caretaker PM.

“Jeremy Corbyn’s letter still doesn’t state that Labour will campaign for Remain in a referendum, or that a Labour government would move immediately to a referendum rather than attempting to renegotiate Brexit.”