Brexit news: Theresa May risks Brexiteer fury by assuring EU leaders that backstop will remain in deal
Prime minister holds 'robust' talks as she looks to reopen negotiations on her withdrawal agreement
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has risked Brexiteer fury by assuring European leaders that the divisive Irish backstop will remain in any final deal.
Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament's Brexit chief, said Ms May told senior MEPs "there is no question to remove the backstop", which acts as an insurance policy against a hard border on the island of Ireland.
The prime minister held "robust" talks with European Commission chief Jean Claude Juncker in Brussels, where the pair agreed to open negotiations on the future relationship between the UK and the EU.
But Mr Juncker stuck by his refusal to reopen the Brexit deal, dampening hopes that the EU could allow Ms May to strip the backstop from the agreement to appease MPs.
It comes as Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn faced a row from his own MPs after laying out the terms under which the party would back Ms May’s deal – but making no reference to a second referendum.
Here is how we covered the days events:
Welcome to The Independent's politics liveblog, where we will be bringing you all the latest updates throughout the day.
A war of words has further undermined Theresa May’s mission to Brussels to rescue her Brexit deal, after the EU warned of a “special place in hell” for politicians who botched the project.
Downing Street and Tory politicians hit back angrily after the extraordinary attack by Donald Tusk on those who triumphed in the referendum “without even a sketch of a plan how to carry it safely”.
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David Lidington, the de-facto deputy PM, said Donald Tusk's comment "wasn't the most brilliant diplomacy in the world".
He told BBC Radio 4's Today: "I think Mr Tusk was venting yesterday, but I don't think that will detract from what I expect to be a courteous and sensible grown-up discussion between the different EU leaders and the prime minister."
Mr Lidington said he and Brexit secretary Steve Barclay want to sit down with Labour frontbenchers but its key Brexit policy on a customs union with Brussels was "wishful thinking".
"If it's Keir Starmer or Emily Thornberry or anybody else, the idea is - if this goes forward - it would be me and Steve Barclay who would be sitting down and meeting them," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.
"Let's hope those conversations can take place."
Mr Lidington said a key part of any discussion would be "to understand exactly where the Labour frontbench is coming from".
He said: "I would be saying to Labour, 'What is it that you don't like about what is in the Political Declaration at the moment?', because what we have there is an idea of a customs arrangement with the European Union that still allows us to have an independent trade policy on top of that, but while getting access - tariff-free and quota-free - for our goods and agriculture to the European market.
"I would be asking what on earth they mean when they say they want to be in a customs union with the EU but also for Britain to have a say in EU trade policy with other countries. That's not something that's allowed under the European treaties.
"This seems to be wishful thinking."
Theresa May will use talks with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk and other prominent EU figures to press for legally binding guarantees on Irish backstop.
The backstop, which is intended to prevent the return of a hard border on the island of Ireland, would see the UK continue to obey EU customs rules after a transition period if no wider trade deal had been reached.
Downing Street said that the PM will insist that the UK cannot be "trapped" in the backstop. She is "open to different ways" of achieving her objectives but they must be legally binding.
The PM will say parliament has sent "an unequivocal message that change is required" but MPs have made it clear they can support her deal if the backstop is addressed.
Jeremy Corbyn has written to Theresa May outlining the Labour party’s five Brexit demands, which he claims will bring the country together.
On a day where a war of words erupted between EU leaders and Tory politicians, undermining Ms May’s Brexit position, Mr Corbyn penned a letter to the prime minister calling for a number of changes to her approach.
The Labour leader said his priorities, which included being part of the customs union and protecting UK jobs, must be enshrined in the political declaration, setting out future relations with the EU, to win his party’s support.
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There's a fair bit of coverage on Theresa May's attendance of the Black and White ball for Tory donors last night. She managed to squeeze the party into her packed schedule, after dashing back from meetings in Belfast yesterday.
Plenty of senior Conservatives were in attendance, including Iain Duncan Smith, Michael Gove, Matt Hancock and Commons Leader Andrea Leadsom. According to the Mirror, party chairman Brandon Lewis gave a speech, where he joked: “Whatever you bid at the auction it is less than you’ll pay in tax under Corbyn."
Theresa May has arrived in Brussels for crunch Brexit talks with EU leaders. She was greeted by European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker as she arrived at the Berlaymont.
An anti-Brexit protester jumped in front of the car as she arrived.
Liam Fox has warned MPs risk making the "pitfalls" of a no-deal Brexit more likely by voting against the Government's Withdrawal Agreement.
The international trade secretary, asked about processing trade deals with minimal delays, told the Commons: "In terms of the continuity of agreements we already have, the best way to ensure full continuity is to have a deal.
"All those who talk about the pitfalls of no deal would do well to remember that in voting against a deal they make those pitfalls all the more likely."
Labour accused Dr Fox of "giving away the shop before negotiations start" after reports he is planning on scrapping all import tariffs post-Brexit.
The cabinet minister replied: "The government has made no decision on this, when we do so we will communicate it to stakeholders, the public and Parliament.
"Of course the best way to avoid this scenario is to have a deal with the European Union and whipping up fear about people's jobs is simply the humbug that has become the hallmark of Mr Esterson."
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