Brexit news - live: Tory PM candidates prompt anger and derision with remarks on LGBT, feminism and opium, as Boris Johnson likened to 1930s fascists

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EU president Juncker tells Tory leadership candidates there will be no Brexit renegotiation: 'I was crystal clear'

The EU's chief Brexit negotiator has issued a warning to Conservative leadership contenders vying to replace Theresa May, telling them the current withdrawal agreement is "the only option".

Michel Barnier made the remarks as Tory contenders publicly declare their intentions to make changes to the UK-EU agreement - including the contentious Irish backstop - despite repeated refusals from Brussels.

His comments came as the Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon issued a fresh attack on frontrunner Boris Johnson, claiming he would be a "disaster" as PM as she cited his "ridiculous" tenure as foreign secretary.

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Key Points

• Theresa May's deal only Brexit option, says EU's chief negotiator 
• ... as Heseltine says battle to replace PM is 'race to be most Faragiste'
• Sturgeon says Johnson would be a 'disaster' in Downing Street
• Chancellor Hammond says Brexit may have to be put 'back to the people'

[30 May 2019 10:45 · Ashley Cowburn]

Allies of Boris Johnson have denounced the move to summons him to court to face allegations that he lied to the public during the 2016 EU referendum when he claimed the UK handed £350m a week to Brussels.

The frontrunner in the Conservative leadership contest may face trial for allegedly “lying and misleading the British public” about the consequences of Brexit.

But an aide said that the crowd-funded private prosecution, brought by campaigner Marcus Ball, was “nothing less than a politically-motivated attempt to reverse Brexit and crush the will of the people”.

[30 May 2019 11:02 · Ashley Cowburn]

Tory leadership hopeful Rory Stewart has apologised for smoking opium in Iranwhile travelling in the region more than a decade ago.

The international development secretary admitted that he had sampled the class-A drug at a wedding but it had "no effect" on him because he was walking up to 30 miles a day.

Mr Stewart, a former tutor to Prince William and Harry, has travelled extensively in the Middle East and wrote a successful book on his solo walk across Afghanistan in 2002.

[30 May 2019 11:24 · Ashley Cowburn]

Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary who is also running to be the next Tory leader, is facing criticism after claiming "parents know best" over the row over LGBT+ lessons in schools. 

In response, Stewart McDonald, an SNP MP, said: "An Esther McVey premiership would almost certainly lead to the return of section 28. This is just her laying the groundwork."

You can read more on the issue here

[30 May 2019 11:31 · Ashley Cowburn]

Cherie Blair - the wife of former PM Tony Blair - was among the Labour members who voted for the Liberal Democrats at the European elections, according to the Evening Standard.

“She was absolutely steaming about the way Alastair was treated,” a family friend told the newspaper. 

“She has had some very well-documented ups and downs with Campbell over the years, but she thought the way he was kicked out was appalling.”

“In common with many,  many other Labour Party members and supporters, she also voted Liberal Democrat in the hope that enough people would do the same thing and Labour would shift its position."

“She is not making a big thing of it. She also knows other people who have done exactly the same thing and are being made to feel they may be expelled, which is utterly absurd.”

[30 May 2019 12:00 · Ashley Cowburn]

Liberal Democrat leadership hopeful Sir Ed Davey has branded Boris Johnson a "preacher of division" as he launched his bid to succeed Sir Vince Cable.

Sir Ed lumped Mr Johnson in with right-wing figures like Nigel Farage and Italy's deputy prime minister Matteo Salvini, and drew a direct comparison between the rise of their populist politics and the fascism of the 1930s.

He ruled out the possibility of coalition with a Johnson-led Tory party or Labour under Jeremy Corbyn in a hung parliament, saying the prospect of either was stomach-turning.

[30 May 2019 12:19 · Ashley Cowburn]

Ministers risk repeating "another Windrush scandal" if the Home Office fails to get the detail of the contentious EU citizens' settlement scheme right post-Brexit, a group of MPs claim today. 

In an alarming warning, the Home Affairs Committee claims individuals from the bloc legally resident in the UK could be left in a "uncertain situation" regarding their rights to remain.

"The hardship and injustice experienced by some members of the Windrush generation has been shameful, and lessons must be learned to avoid similar consequences befalling EU citizens," the committee's report urges.

[30 May 2019 12:54 · Ashley Cowburn]

Theresa May’s resignation has freed cabinet ministers to talk about what is likely to happen to Brexit, rather than having to stick to the script, writes political commentator John Rentoul.

[30 May 2019 13:26 · Benjamin Kentish]

Esther McVey, who is one of the candidates running to succeed Theresa May, has sparked an angry backlash after suggesting that parents should be free to withdraw their children from LGBT lessons

[30 May 2019 13:44 · Benjamin Kentish]

It's been a strange 24 hours in the Conservative leadership contest, with several of the candidates having made eye-catching comments.

Yesterday, housing minister Kit Malthouse claimed the government could buy up 80,000 tons of "sheep meat" in order to feed schoolchildren and hospital patients "lamb chops" in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

Last night, Dominic Raab told ITV News he was "probably not" a feminist, drawing condemnation on social media.

Then Esther McVey triggered a backlash after saying parents should be free to withdraw parents from school lessons on LGBT relationships, insisting on Sky News that "parents know best for their children".

And shortly afterwards, Rory Stewart apologised for "a very stupid mistake" after admitting he had once spoked opium.

[30 May 2019 14:15 · Ashley Cowburn]

Former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith has told the BBC there should be a re-writing of the Conservative leadership rules to avoid "chaos", with nearly a dozen candidates already having declared. 

"We need to present a face of a party that actually can get jobs done," he said. "We don't want to have this meandering around looking like chaos."

"I have never seen so many people lining up and there may be more."

Mr Duncan Smith said that instead of the candidates being whittled down by one during each vote of Tory MPs in the coming weeks - to leave two in a final head to head -  two or three should be removed in each ballot to "accelerate the process".