Brexit: Ministers 'up for the fight' to rule out no deal, senior Tory tells May
Government forced to pay Eurotunnel £33m over Grayling's no-deal Brexit ferry farce
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Ministers are “up for the fight” to prevent the UK crashing out of the EU without a deal, a senior Tory has warned the prime minister, saying a disorderly exit is “not something we can contemplate”.
Tobias Ellwood, the defence minister, said he would fight to prevent a no-deal Brexit taking place – either on 29 March or after an extension.
His warning came after it was revealed the Government had paid £33m to Eurotunnel to settle a legal action over the award of contracts to ferry firms, including one that had no ships.
Eurotunnel had accused ministers of awarding the contracts through a “secretive and flawed procurement process”.
“We’re going to stay, we want to be the party, we don’t want to be pushed out in any sense,” Mr Ellwood told the BBC’s Nick Robinson in a podcast.
“This moderate view that we’re trying to defend has to be where we go in the future or we will not win the next general election.”
Meanwhile, opposition to Theresa May’s Brexit deal appeared to be starting to soften.
Top Brexiteer Dominic Raab signalled his position was moving, saying Eurosceptics were not “dogmatic” over the divisive Irish backstop. He added: “The substance rather than the vehicle and means is what matters. We need to see substantial legally binding changes.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg, who chairs the European Research Group of Tory Brexiteers, also suggested he could be happy with an appendix to Ms May’s deal.
The comments offer a glimmer of hope to the prime minister ahead of a critical vote on her deal on 12 March, and come after she opened the door to a short delay to Britain’s departure from the EU.
To read how events developed on Friday, please see what was our live coverage below.
Welcome to The Independent's coverage of the day's political events.
Bit of breaking news coming in - Chris Grayling has reached a £33m settlement over the Brexit ferry contract fiasco.
Eurotunnel has dropped its legal claim against the government over "secretive" post-Brexit ferry contracts after ministers agreed to pay out £33m to the firm.
Chris Grayling's department ended up in hot water after it handed out lucrative contracts to increase cross-Channel capacity in the event of a no-deal Brexit to three firms - including one company that did not have any ships.
Here is the government's statement:
As part of the agreement, Eurotunnel has also withdrawn its legal claim against the government, protecting the vital freight capacity that the government has purchased from DFDS and Brittany Ferries.
This freight capacity will help ensure the continued supply in a no deal scenario of crucial medicines, medical supplies and veterinary medicines.
A quick reminder of what has happened this week:
Theresa May caved in to pressure from Cabinet ministers including Amber Rudd, David Gauke and Greg Clark and agreed to offer MPs the chance to vote on delaying Brexit if no deal is in place by March 29.
The prime minister promised to bring her Brexit deal back to the Commons for another "meaningful vote" by 12 March.
If that fails, MPs will then get to vote on whether they want a no-deal Brexit and, if they do not, then they can call on Mrs May to seek an extension to Article 50.
The move may have prevented a Cabinet revolt, but more than 100 Conservatives failed to support the plan in a Commons vote and George Eustice quit as environment minister in protest at the prospect of an extension which could be a "final humiliation" for Britain.
Meanwhile Labour's alternative Brexit plan was rejected by the Commons, meaning Jeremy Corbyn's party will now put forward or support an amendment calling for a second referendum.
What is going to happen next?
The Government will continue negotiations in Brussels aimed at securing changes to the Northern Ireland backstop as it tries to get a Brexit deal that can make it through the Commons.
There will be another showdown on the deal by March 12 at the latest, as Mrs May seeks to reverse the humiliating 230-vote defeat suffered in January.
If the deal is rejected again, MPs will vote by March 13 at the latest on whether they want a no-deal departure from the EU.
Assuming they do not, then MPs will be asked if they want to seek a "short, limited extension" to Article 50. If they do, this would require the consent of the other 27 European Union states.
Mrs May stressed she did not want an extension and warned that it did not rule out the prospect of a no-deal Brexit, but would instead risk creating a "much sharper cliff edge" in a few months.
Here is what transport secretary, Chris Grayling, had to say about the settlement with Eurotunnel:
The agreement with Eurotunnel secures the Government's additional freight capacity, helping ensure that the NHS has essential medicines in the event of a no deal Brexit.
While it is disappointing that Eurotunnel chose to take legal action on contracts in place to ensure the smooth supply of vital medicines, I am pleased that this agreement will ensure the Channel Tunnel is ready for a post-Brexit world."
An NHS ambulance trust has drawn up plans in case a no-deal Brexit holds up delivery of new emergency vehicles from Germany.
The North East Ambulance Service (NEAS), which covers an area from Berwick-upon-Tweed to the North Yorkshire border, has placed an order for 44 modified Mercedes vehicles that are converted by a German firm.
These have been bought to replace 31 vehicles coming to the end of their seven-year lifespan, and another 13 ordered for the new 100 new paramedics it has recruited to meet new, lower emergency response times.
The order for the emergency response vehicles is due to be completed by the summer, after the date the UK could leave the EU without a deal.
Should no-deal hold up the supply of the new vehicles, NEAS said it will have to extend the life of its current ambulances, something a spokesman said was "not an ideal situation".
Nearly 1,000 Jeremy Corbyn-supporters have signed an open letter apologising to the Jewish community, saying Labour has been “too slow” to recognise the problem of antisemitism in the party’s ranks.
The move follows the suspension of former Labour MP Chris Williamson, after he outraged large sections of the Parliamentary Labour Party by claiming some of his colleagues had been “too apologetic” over antisemitism accusations.
More here:
To Sevenoaks in Kent, where Tory MP Sir Michael Fallon is facing rebellion inside his own constituency after the local Conservative Party chairman resigned over his stance on Brexit.
Paulette Furse told Kent Live that Sir Michael, who has previously refused to support both Theresa May’s withdrawal deal and a no-deal Brexit, was “not backing the people of Sevenoaks”.
“At the end of the day his members are not happy and are calling for him to resign,” Ms Furse added.
The MP responded in with a statement saying he was “sorry” his local party chair has stepped down.
“Leaving without a deal has never been the government’s policy. It was not the Leave campaign’s policy: they made clear there would have to be a transitional period rather than a cliff-edge,” he added.
“We must do everything possible to avoid the damage of new tariffs, however temporary, and to minimise any possible disruption to our businesses here in Kent.”
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