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As it happenedended

MPs reject attempt to seize control of Commons agenda in latest attempt to prevent no-deal Brexit

Sajid Javid brands Boris Johnson 'yesterday's man' as rivals launch leadership bids

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent
,Jon Sharman,Lizzy Buchan,Jane Dalton
Wednesday 12 June 2019 14:35 BST
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Boris Johnson dodges question again as he's asked a second time about taking cocaine

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Labour has lost an attempt to block the possibility of any new prime minister forcing through a no-deal Brexit against MPs' wishes.

It came as Sajid Javid had a pointed dig at Boris Johnson as they launched rival Tory leadership campaigns, saying the former foreign secretary was "yesterday's news".

The home secretary positioned himself as a "new kind of leader", after Mr Johnson had pledged to end the Brexit "disillusion and despair" by taking the UK out of the EU on 31 October with or without a deal.

A shock poll suggested the Tory front-runner would win a general election landslide as prime minister.

The ComRes survey for the Daily Telegraph – which pays the former foreign secretary £275,000 for a weekly column – said Mr Johnson’s Tories would win 37 per cent of the vote, which the paper claimed would translate to a 140-seat majority following analysis by the Electoral Calculus website.

Please see what was our live coverage below

Javid says he has been clear that he wants to increase resources for police, providing an extra 20,000 officers on the streets. 

Our public services are the foundations on which are society is built, he adds. 

Ashley Cowburn12 June 2019 17:20

Sajid Javid is now taking questions. Asked whether he is concerned the Conservative Party is about to turn back into the "nasty party", he replies: "Sadly some politicians - around the world - think the best way to win votes is to exploit divisions."

"We've got to make sure our political future is not about division - we've got to bring people together."

Ashley Cowburn12 June 2019 17:22

Asked about the biggest difference between him and Boris Johnson, Javid says Boris Johnson is "yesterday's news", as he adds: "I am different - I look different, my background is different."

Ashley Cowburn12 June 2019 17:26

Asked about abortion, Mr Javid said he would not bring the issue up again if he were prime minister.

Jane Dalton12 June 2019 17:27

As Mr Javid took a question from Beth Rigby of Sky News, he told her she must not worry about being booed for doing her job - a dig at rival Mr Johnson and his supporters.

Earlier, when Ms Rigby had challenged Mr Johnson at his campaign launch over having compared women in burkhas to letterboxes, she was boo-ed by a room full of Tories.

Jane Dalton12 June 2019 17:48

The Home Secretary said of Mr Johnson: "He's been around in politics for a while, he's achieved a lot, he's still got a big role to play.

"But I think if we're trying to connect with the next generation and move forward as a country then I think it's time for the next generation with a bold new agenda."

Jane Dalton12 June 2019 17:53

After the Labour bill was defeated, independent MP Chuka Umunna tweeted he could not understand why some MPs could not "bring themselves to support moves to stop a hard-right Brexiter PM seeking to crash our country out of the EU with all the damage it will do to our economy. Unforgivable". 

Jane Dalton12 June 2019 18:01

Chancellor Philip Hammond said Mr Johnson was in danger of boxing himself "into a corner" by insisting Britain must leave the EU by 31 October, with or without a deal.

Mr Hammond warned that the EU would not re-open negotiations on Theresa May's Withdrawal Agreement.

"I think it will be very difficult - in fact I think it will be impossible - to do this by 31 October, and I don't think it will be in our national interest that we drive towards this cliff-edge at speed," he said.

Jane Dalton12 June 2019 18:08

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