Theresa May struggles to maintain authority as cabinet ministers speculate over failure of deal in Commons
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May is struggling to maintain authority after two of her cabinet ministers publicly speculated about the government's next steps should the Brexit deal fall in the Commons.
It came as Downing Street was forced to dismiss comments from cabinet ministers Andrea Leadsom and Amber Rudd after their remarks on a fresh referendum and a "managed no-deal" scenario.
Asked if a second referendum was plausible if Parliament remains gridlocked, the prime minister's official spokesman said: "No."
On Thursday, it also emerged that Tory and Labour MPs joined forces to stop Ms May crashing the UK out of the EU without a deal, starting with a showdown vote early in the New Year.
The move is intended to be the first of many planned ambushes to put parliament in control.
The group of MPs includes fellow Tories Oliver Letwin and Nick Boles, as well as Labour big-hitters Yvette Cooper, Hilary Benn, Rachel Reeves and Harriet Harman.
They have tabled an amendment to the finance bill, to be debated on 8 January, that would prevent any new taxes earmarked for no-deal preparations without the consent of the Commons.
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Jeremy Corbyn has accused the media of being "utterly obsessed" with what he said in the Commons.
Asked on Thursday morning by a BBC reporter whether the language he used was "respectful", he replied: "I muttered it to myself, actually, in Parliament and you and your colleagues in the media seem utterly obsessed with this.
"The fact that a homeless man died outside Parliament has got no coverage whatsoever, and it should."
Mr Corbyn added: "The respectful nature of Parliament is important and a whole load of Tory MPs turning the issue of a no-deal Brexit into a pantomime, that is serious."
Theresa May is now starting a press conference with the Polish prime minister Mateusz Morawiecki at Lancaster House in central London. She says the UK and Poland are crucial allies, and will increase defence cooperation.
The PM dedicates her opening remarks to tackling Russian aggression and disinformation, increasing investment, and recognising the contribution of Polish people to the UK.
She says securing the rights of Polish citizens and the rights of other EU citizens, was her priority in the Brexit negotiations. Their rights will be unhindered by a no-deal scenario, she says.
The Polish PM Mateusz Morawiecki says the circumstances of the Brexit negotiations were "difficult" and says he always tried to support "creative, pragmatic" solutions.
"We believe the current withdrawal agreement is the best that could have been obtained - it is a window to the future," he says.
"This agreement should come into force, it will be beneficial for both parties... as has been many of times the UK is leaving the EU, but it is not leaving Europe. We want to carry out as many joint projects as possible."
This is from ITV's Robert Peston - and has the potential to be highly significant when Parliament returns from the Christmas recess.
Speaking at the press conference, the Polish PM added: “Polish citizens who live in the UK can feel safe and can be sure that their rights, their social rights included, will be respected.
“This was very important for our government, as this was our responsibility to make sure our citizens who left the country and founded their second home in the UK had their rights respected
“We are happy about the fact they have found a new home but, as our economy is blooming, we would like to encourage our citizens to consider returning to Poland - although we respect everyone’s personal choices.”
More than 4,500 disabled people were wrongly stripped of their benefits despite having a “good reason” for missing assessments, ministers have admitted.
The department of work and pensions (DWP) has now acknowledged the blunder – more than one year after a ruling that the disability living allowance (DLA) payments should not have been stopped.
“We expect around 4,600 people to gain as a result of this review exercise,” a statement to MPs says.
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