Brexit news – live: Farage accuses Tories of ‘corruption’ over alleged offer of peerages for election favours
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Your support makes all the difference.Nigel Farage has accused the Tories of “corruption” over claims that several Brexit Party candidates were offered peerages and negotiating roles in return for stepping down in the general election race.
Dominic Raab has left the door open for Britain to crash out of the EU without a deal if future Brexit negotiations with the bloc don’t go the government’s way, telling Andrew Marr: “I don’t think it’s remotely likely.”
Jeremy Corbyn reiterated his party’s commitment to a second referendum but refused four times to say whether he backed Leave or Remain, insisting he wants to “bring people together on both sides”.
The Labour leader refused to say whether the party would seek to continue freedom of movement, despite it being current policy. He hinted their now-finalised manifesto would lay out plans for “a great deal of movement” but would not be drawn to explain in more detail.
Elsewhere, a “heartbroken” Jennifer Arcuri has accused Boris Johnson of casting her aside like “some fleeting one-night stand” as she “kept [his] secrets” amid the media firestorm over whether he misused public funds in awarding her cyber-firm £100,000.
The US businesswoman told ITV she wished the PM had declared their mysterious personal relationship a conflict of interest at the time to avoid her “humiliation”, in an interview to be broadcast on Sunday evening.
Voters face choice of no-deal or Final Say referendum, ex-Tory minister says
David Gauke, who resigned as justice minister in response to Boris Johnson becoming PM, has expanded upon fears that his former party retaining power would result in a no-deal Brexit.
"I don’t see what the escape route is if there is a Conservative majority," he told The Observer. "Will we [leave the EU] at the end of January 2020? Yes.
"Will the prime minister seek an extension to the implementation period before 1 July next year? No.
"Will a comprehensive free trade agreement be completed and ratified before 31 December 2020? No."
Mr Gauke, a reluctant second referendum convert who is campaigning as an independent, says that as calls for a soft Brexit have been extinguished, the choice now lies between no-deal or Remain.
Government will publish Russian interference report after the election, security minister says
Opponents have accused the government of sitting on a report on Russian interference in UK politics, which has been cleared by the security services, because it might contain embarrassing revelations about Boris Johnson, Leave campaigns, and the Conservatives.
But security minister Brandon Lewis told Sky News the report could not be published during the so-called "purdah" period which sets rules on government announcements during an election campaign.
"We want to make sure, particularly where national security is involved, we go through that process properly and thoroughly," he said. "We can't publish things during the general election ... but after the general election that report will be published."
Last week the government had said the report had not been published because of necessary procedure whereby vetting it would take several weeks.
CNN claim to have seen testimonies from the inquiry, and reported that one witness described Moscow's development of a network of agents and allies across the political spectrum as "potentially the most significant threat to the UK's institutions and its ways of life", according to a testimony shown to reporters.
The US news network said Russian agents are reportedly targeting House of Commons research roles and gaining citizenship in order to funnel cash into political parties.
The Sunday Times said the report concluded Russian interference may have had an impact on the Brexit referendum but the effect was "unquantifiable".
Shadow cabinet minister denies alleged Labour antisemitism and refers to 'sloppy analysis of capitalism'
Laura Pidcock, a key ally to Jeremy Corbyn, has denied accusations of antisemitism within the Labour Party.
"If anyone thinks I could have that history and support a leader who agrees with antisemitism, that’s deluded,” she told the Sunday Times.
“Would I say antisemitism does exist in the Labour Party? Course not.
“There are people with a sloppy analysis of capitalism – who believe in the tropes about a new world order and all that nonsense. They must be rooted out.”
The Labour Party has finalised their manifesto, to be released on Thursday.
"It will be a once in a generation opportunity to vote for a more egalitarian society that cares for all," Mr Corbyn told reporters outside the Institute of Engineering and Technology.
The manifesto should lay out Labour's proposed costings for a recent series of expensive pledges, such as free broadband and free dental check-ups, which the Confederation of British Industry's director general earlier warned could "crack the foundations of our economy".
Aside from funding, one of the largest questions hanging over the document is of the party's stance on immigration.
As Labour finalised the manifesto, a group of campaigners gathered outside to demand the party back freedom of movement.
Mr Corbyn earlier told Andrew Marr to wait and see the wording within the manifesto rather than lay out the party's stance to viewers.
Government urged to ‘stop playing political football’ with drug death crisis
A Tory MSP has lamented she had “not done enough to help” in the face of soaring drug-related deaths in the UK, and reprimanded both Holyrood and Westminister, saying both “should be feeling the same way”.
According to The Herald, Annie Wells wrote to drugs minister Kit Malthouse last night saying: “We are collectively failing.”
It comes after home secretary Priti Patel unveiled a £20m law enforcement crackdown on county lines drugs gangs despite Home Office literature stating existing approach has “little to no impact on trade”, according to drugs charity Release.
Meanwhile, investment in drug treatment services flounders.
Should PM say Corbyn wants to nationalise his Johnson in TV debate?
In what will likely turn out to be the most bizarre piece of unintended promo for the upcoming TV debate between Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, an unnamed source has told the Sunday Times of a strategic challenge facing the Tory camp.
Speaking about the first TV debate, an unsurprisingly anonymous Tory said: "There is a bit of nervousness about whether we go hard at Corbyn.
"Do you say, 'You're a disgrace on national security and you want to nationalise my penis,' or do you go for the statesmanlike approach?"
It is unclear which option the prime minister will go for.
Farage accuses Tories of "corruption" while saying claims of Brexit job offers and peerages are "fact"
The Brexit Party leader has told BBC Radio 5 Live that claims his party's candidates had been offered negotiating roles and peerages in return for them standing aside for Conservatives in the general election are "fact".
"Ann Widdecombe made it perfectly clear she received two phone calls, from a senior official in number 10, offering her a job on the negotiating team if she stood down as an election candidate. Fact," said Mr Farage.
"Fact number two, Sir Eddie Lister, rang up our candidate for Peterborough offering him a job in higher education if he stood down as a candidate.
"They’re the things that are already out in the open and what I have said that is there was actually a package put together, in which eight senior figures of the Brexit party would go to the house of Lords and be part of the negotiating team ... in order for us to stand down, and I was shown the list that we'd be be given from Number 10.
"It’s corruption. It’s corruption."
The police are investigating allegations of electoral fraud in relation to the claims, which the Tories say are untrue.
People’s Vote campaign splits as youth group breaks away amid row
The People’s Vote campaign for a fresh Brexit referendum has split after weeks of infighting between its chairman and members of staff, writes Benjamin Kentish.
One of the campaign’s two youth groups, For our Future’s Sake (FFS), has decided to break away and will campaign separately to the other groups under the People’s Vote umbrella.
Corbyn rules out Scottish IndyRef2 before 2021
In a potential blow to any future electoral or power-sharing deal, Jeremy Corbyn has shrugged off the SNP's desire for an independence referendum in 2020.
Mr Corbyn said he would "certainly not" consider a ballot on Scotland's place in the UK until the Holyrood elections in 2021.
Mr Corbyn's comments followed a warning from the SNP's Westminster leader Ian Blackford that Scotland's desire for independence is "unstoppable" and must not be blocked by the next prime minister.
Mr Blackford also described a submarine-shaped block on the two parties working together, calling for Labour to pledge the removal of the UK’s nuclear arsenal from Scottish shores: “Trident does not play a part in our future defences.”
Excl: Domestic abuse survivors ‘blocked from voting due to an antiquated system that puts lives at risk’
Domestic abuse survivors are frightened to cast a ballot in the forthcoming election over fears their abusive former partner would be able to find their address on the electoral register, which is a public document, Maya Oppenheim reports.
Campaigners say such women are being excluded from the democratic process due to fears they will be tracked down by their perpetrators – noting domestic homicides often happen years after the woman has escaped.
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