David Cameron attacks ‘appalling’ successor after PM heckled and accosted in street during northern debacle
PM's last-but-one predecessor warns against a no-deal Brexit
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Your support makes all the difference.David Cameron has hit out at Boris Johnson and his Brexit strategy, saying the prime minister was wrong to suspend parliament and warning that a no-deal Brexit would be a “bad outcome”.
It rounded off a dismal day for the prime minister after a trip to Yorkshire descended into chaos when he was confronted by an angry voter over Brexit in Doncaster and heckled over the suspension of parliament during a speech in Rotherham.
The prime minister was setting out plans to hand more powers to the north of England, but was derailed by an audience member, who shouted: “Why are you not in parliament sorting out the mess you’ve created?”
Mr Johnson said he was “cautiously optimistic” of getting a Brexit deal as he prepared for talks on Monday with Jean-Claude Juncker, the European Commission president, and negotiator Michel Barnier.
He claimed there was the “rough shape” of a deal in place.
But he made clear that if he was unable to get a new deal, he would not be deterred by “shenanigans” at Westminster from taking Britain out of the EU by 31 October.
His last-but-one predecessor Mr Cameron claimed Mr Johnson had behaved “appallingly” during the Vote Leave campaign.
See below for what was our live coverage
Eeek - a journalist from the Rotherham Advertiser puts the PM on the spot, by repeating his controversial claim that money spent on investigating historic child sexual abuse was "being spaffed up the wall".
Johnson looks unhappy at the question and claims that is not what he said. Spoiler alert, he did say it.
Here's our story from the time:
Another question on why the domestic abuse bill has been delayed.
Johnson says the bill is going to be carried over - it will be in the Queen's Speech when parliament returns in October.
He was also asked about when there will be further devolution but he said more work needed to be done.
Boris Johnson has been interrupted during a high-profile speech by a heckler protesting at his decision to suspend parliament in the run-up to the Brexit deadline.
The prime minister’s speech in Rotherham ground briefly to a halt as the man shouted “get back to parliament”.
The incident came shortly after Mr Johnson was accosted in the street by a woman who told him he had “a cheek” to come to the Yorkshire town after the suffering which Conservative austerity policies had caused.
During the Q&A, Boris Johnson said he was "cautiously optimistic" over getting a new deal negotiated with Brussels that can win the backing of MPs.
Mr Johnson said: "We are working incredibly hard to get a deal. There is the rough shape of the deal to be done.
"As some of you may have seen, I myself have been to talk to various other EU leaders particularly in Germany, in France and in Ireland, where we made a good deal of progress.
"I'm seeing (the) president of the commission and the chief negotiator Michel Barnier on Monday and we will talk about the ideas that we've been working on and we will see where we get.
"I would say I'm cautiously optimistic."
Having called David Cameron a "girly swot" in leaked papers, Boris Johnson said he was not concerned about what his predecessor would write about him in his upcoming memoirs.
"I want people to be clear, absolutely nothing that David Cameron says in his memoirs in the course of the next few days will diminish the affection and respect in which I hold him," Mr Johnson said.
"Not least for what he did in turning this country round after Labour left it bankrupt.
"I think he has a very distinguished record and a legacy to be proud of."
BBC Breakfast presenter Steph McGovern had a jibe at the prime minister after hosting his speech.
She said: "I'd just like to point out I am a girly swot, and I'm proud of it!
"Let's see who's in the job for longest."
Labour activists have backed a move to force Jeremy Corbyn to fully oppose Brexit, paving the way for a major battle at the party's annual conference later this month.
More than 60 local Labour Party branches have voted to submit a motion to the conference calling for the party to shift its position to clearly back remaining in the EU.
Most of the motions submitted are based on a template saying Labour should “campaign energetically for a public vote and to Remain" and “support revoking Article 50 if necessary to prevent no-deal”. They say the party should also “defend free movement and extend migrants’ rights."
More here:
Irish primer Leo Varadkar has said there is “ongoing contact with the DUP”, but he isn’t aware in any shift in their stance over the border.
“I’m not aware of any change in position in the DUP but I don’t think I should speak for them … our position hasn’t changed. We believed that the best solution is the Withdrawal Agreeement, including the Irish protocol and the backstop.”
More from the moment a woman in Doncaster confronted Boris Johnson.
Liz Truss has reportedly been rowing with the EU Exit Operations (XO) committee after she suggested giving businesses £1,500 “Brexit vouchers” to help them adjust to a no-deal exit.
According to BuzzFeed News, the international trade secretary wanted to give the vouchers to “tens of thousands” of firms that export to the EU.
Yet Michael Gove – XO committee chair – is said to have rejected the plan because there was no way of guaranteeing the money would be spent in a beneficial way.
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