General election - live: Nigel Farage faces grilling from Andrew Neil after four Brexit Party MEPs defect to Tories
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Boris Johnson has promised to cut taxes in a “post-Brexit budget” within weeks of the UK leaving the EU. But the plan – based on an existing pledge to raise the threshold for national insurance contributions – was branded as “pure fantasy” and the PM accused of lying.
It comes as Conservative officials are said to be concerned about evidence of a narrowing poll lead over Labour. Appearing on This Morning, Mr Johnson likened Labour's leaked, NHS-related government trade documents to “UFO photos”.
Sajid Javid has claimed Mr Johnson could secure a complex trade deal with the EU “within months”. EU documents leaked to The Independent show leaders in Brussels will issue an election result-day warning to Mr Johnson about the “limited” time to avoid a no-deal Brexit.
Meanwhile, Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage was grilled by the BBC's Andrew Neil, who issued a challenge to the prime minister, who has dodged appearing on his programme, telling him he has an interview "oven-ready".
Swinson vs Neil: how did Lib Dem leader fare?
Our chief commentator John Rentoul has assessed the Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson’s “brave” performance when interview by Andrew Neil live on the BBC last night.
“She stood up for her record and her principles against the heaviest onslaught modern TV has available,” he writes.
Read more here:
Sajid Javid repeatedly fails to rule out no-deal Brexit
Sajid Javid has repeatedly failed to rule out a no-deal Brexit at the end of 2020 amid growing concerns the Tory manifesto has left the door open for the UK to crash out without agreement.
In a radio interview this morning, the chancellor said the prospect of a disorderly exit was “remote” as he claimed he had “not a single doubt” that Boris Johnson could secure a complex free trade deal with the EU “within months”.
All the details here:
Boris Johnson likens leaked NHS documents to UFO photos
The prime minister is being interviewed by Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on ITV’s This Morning.
Johnson tells them he desperately wants “a working majority” to get his Brexit deal passed.
Schofield presses him on the issue of “trust” and asks him why he pledged 50,000 nurses when 19,000 were existing nurses in the NHS. Johnson doesn’t give a direct answer, but said he wanted to retain more staff.
Schofield asked if the nurses would be required, if his government flogs the NHS to the Americans. “Absolute nonsense,” said Johnson. “This is a scare story that comes up time and time again.”
Schofield asked again: is the health service on the table in any post-Brexit trade deal? “No,” said Johnson, calling it a “rock solid guarantee”.
What about Labour’s documents? “There are photos that purport to show there are UFOs.”
Boris Johnson grilled over infamous ‘letter box’ comments
This Morning host Phillip Schofield asked Boris Johnson if it was right for a prime minister to describe Muslim women who wear the veil as looking like “letter boxes”.
Johnson replied: “People dig out all sorts of articles … I’ve already said sorry for any offense cause and I say it again.”
The PM repeated his claims his old articles had been taken out of context and actually make “quite the opposite” argument to what has been reported. “What we have to do is have an inquiry over xenophobia and prejudice of all kinds.”
Asked about his column ridiculing single mothers and their children, he said: “I don’t think this is the time to talk about articles written quite a long time ago,” and attempted to talk about Tory policies to help mothers instead.
Questioned more about his Brexit promises, Schofield asked: “Can you get us out cleanly, do you promise?” Johnson replied: “I absolutely promise.”
The PM also said people should not feel unsafe as Britain is “one of the safest countries in the world,” despite last week’s terrorist attack at London Bridge.
“Simple things like stopping the early release of serious and violent criminals, that’s what we've got to do. We’ve got to stop people coming out early and then committing the same sorts of crimes again.”
Johnson admitted it was “quite incredible” that attacker Usman Khan did not see the parole board before being released.
Tories are the ‘only option’ for Brexit backers, say three Brexit Party MEPs as they quit
More on that major blow for Nigel Farage, as three Brexit Party MEPs announced they were quitting to back the Tories.
The group of MEPs, include Jacob Rees-Mogg’s sister Annunziata, said: “We need a strong Leave-supporting government to deliver the Brexit 17.4 million voted for.”
“The Conservatives are the only option for Brexit supporters and democrats alike,” she added.
Reacting to the decision, Farage said he was “disappointed”, but added they “don’t seem to understand that we saved the Conservative Party from large scale losses” by standing down candidates in the south west of England.
All the details here:
Former Labour MP tells people not to vote for Labour
It won’t come as a shock to Jeremy Corbyn, but ex-Labour MP Joan Ryan – who quit in February – has become the latest former party figure to urge voters not to back the party at this election.
Appearing alongside Ian Austin, she reportedly said Labour had moved in a “terrifying” direction under Corbyn.
This Morning interviewers get selfie with Boris Johnson
Lots of people are getting annoyed by this Boris Johnson photo with This Morning’s Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby.
The Tory leader has ducked the forensic questioning of the BBC’s Andrew Neil – someone who might not get quite so excited about a selfie.
Labour pledges to recruit 20,000 more teachers to reduce class sizes
Labour has pledged to recruit nearly 20,000 more teachers to ensure class sizes are capped at 30.
About 25,000 staff who are currently “unqualified” would also be fully trained during Labour’s first term in office if the party won the 12 December general election, the party insisted.
Under new plans to improve education standards, Labour has also promised £7bn to tackle overdue repairs and install safety measures, like sprinklers.
Jewish group accuses Jeremy Corbyn of creating ‘welcoming refuge’ for antisemitism
Seventy Labour staffers past and present have given sworn evidence about antisemitism to the equality watchdog as part of a major investigation into the allegations dogging the party.
In a submission to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), the Jewish Labour Movement accused Jeremy Corbyn of creating a “welcoming refuge” for antisemitism in the party by “publicly supporting antisemites and antisemitic tropes”.
The leaked dossier also contains a bombshell allegation that staffers were ordered to upload cases onto USB sticks and deliver them to Mr Corbyn’s team to review - despite the Labour leader’s insistence that the complaints process was independent.
BBC’s Question Time ‘manel’ condemned, prompting last-minute change
This week’s BBC Question Time panel has been receiving a lot of flak on social media. Harriet Harman was among the many questioning why five men were booked to represent the parties.
Labour’s Laura Pidcock had pulled out, so Jon Ashworth stepped in instead, creating an all-male panel. Since then, Ashworth has stepped aside for female colleague, Annaliese Dodds.
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