Brexit news - live: Downing Street admits no meetings planned with EU leaders despite Theresa May seeking new compromises on Irish border
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Downing Street has admitted there are no imminent meetings planned between Theresa May and EU leaders, despite the prime minister hoping to secure concessions on the Northern Ireland border by next week.
Ms May's spokesman said there had been no further talks between the prime minister and her counterparts since last week, as the EU continues to insist that negotiations on the withdrawal agreement cannot be reopened.
The prime minister will travel to Northern Ireland on Tuesday to reassure businesses that the government is committed to maintaining an open border after Brexit.
It comes after she meets with Tory Brexit rebels in Whitehall later today to hammer out proposed changes to her exit deal despite fierce opposition from Brussels to changing the plan.
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Welcome to The Independent's politics liveblog, where we will be bringing you the latest updates throughout the day.
Theresa May has been accused of “wasting valuable time” in the countdown to Britain’s exit from the EU as she announced plans to establish a Commons group probing alternative plans for the Irish border post-Brexit.
Despite the prime minister’s hopes of reopening the withdrawal agreement already being dashed by EU leaders with just 53 days to go until Brexit, the new committee made up of senior Tory MPs will meet for the first time on Monday.
Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay is expected to attend the sessions, alongside support from officials at HM Revenue and Customs, the Cabinet Office, and No 10.
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Justice Secretary David Gauke hinted his support for a delay to Brexit if it was needed to ensure a "smooth and orderly" exit as he urged his colleagues to support a deal.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "We need to leave the European Union in a smooth and orderly way, and our objective is to do that on the 29th March, but I think it is important that it is a smooth and orderly departure and that is key.
"The determination that the Prime Minister has set out is to deliver that on the 29th March but if we are going to do that then MPs do need to be backing a deal in short order, and that's MPs both on my own side and also in other parties."
While Tory MPs try to thrash out a way forward, it's important to remember that the EU is still opposed to reopening Theresa May's Brexit deal.
Sabine Weyand, deputy negotiator for the European Commission, has openly dismissed any attempts to replace the backstop with 'alternative arrangements'.
This is the crux of the so-called Malthouse compromise, which the working group is looking into today. It takes the backstop plan out of the Brexit deal and would replace it with some other mechanism, perhaps a technological solution.
Jeremy Corbyn and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have shared their visions of the future in a “lovely and wide-reaching” phone conversation.
The Labour leader revealed he had spoken to the newly-elected Democrat on Twitter on Sunday night.
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The UK has formally recognised opposition leader Juan Guaido as the interim president of Venezuela, says Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary.
The government has been accused of quietly delaying ‘naming and shaming’ of top companies paying poverty wages as Brexit dominates the Whitehall agenda.
Labour MPs will give Jeremy Corbyn a week to prove the leadership has got to grips with the antisemitism row that has dogged the party.
MPs are braced for a fresh clash over handling of anti-Jewish sentiment in Labour’s ranks amid warnings the party risks appearing “institutionally antisemitic” if the issue is not addressed.
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Justice secretary David Gauke has unveiled a sweeping overhaul of the parole system designed to prevent a repeat of the John Worboys crisis.
For the first time, victims will be able to challenge decisions to release the most serious criminals without having to resort to costly and complex court battles.
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