Brexit news latest: DUP dismisses Michel Barnier proposal as Theresa May says EU withdrawal could be cancelled if deal rejected
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May pleaded with her EU counterparts to give ground in a key speech just days before MPs vote on her Brexit deal.
Speaking in Grimsby on Friday, the prime minister said “no one knows” what will happen if her plan is rejected, warning Brexiteers: “We may never leave at all”.
Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier reacted to Ms May’s speech in a series of tweets. He said the UK would have the unilateral right to leave the customs union, but also made clear Northern Ireland would have to stay inside it.
However, the apparent concession was dismissed by the DUP as neither “realistic nor sensible”. Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay suggested the EU plan was simply a return to an earlier version of the backstop which had already been rejected.
Ms May accused Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn of supporting “a divisive second referendum that would take the UK right back to square one”.
Mr Corbyn fired back by warning the prime minister not to make a third attempt to ram through her deal if it’s defeated next week, saying it must be “the end of the road”.
Here's how the day unfolded:
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The Independent Group lead spokesman, Chuka Umunna, said: "Members of Parliament have consistently rejected the Prime Minister's flawed deal because it will harm the UK's businesses and jobs.
"It involves paying a gigantic divorce bill, with no certainty on our future EU trading relationship in return. But the Prime Minister has put her head in the sand and refuses to listen.
"Theresa May is too busy negotiating with her own party, and putting Tory party unity ahead of the national interest, to build a consensus around a proposition which could command a majority in the House of Commons. That has been the persistent problem throughout this whole process.
"The only way to resolve this is to have a series of indicative votes in the House of Commons on the various Brexit options, and to hold a People's Vote on whichever one commands a majority."
Interested in The Independent Group (TIG)? These are the MPs who recently broke away from both the Tories and Labour in protest at the direction of their parties.
My colleague Rob Merrick has written a piece on their first policy intervention, which says axing tuition fees and renationalising the utilities are a waste of money.
Ministers have been warned that the government's rejection of calls for a meaningful vote in parliament on post-Brexit trade deals may come back to "haunt it" in the coming months.
International Trade Committee chairman Angus MacNeil said it was crucial for parliament to be "informed and onside" for the government to achieve its Brexit plans - with free trade agreements at the centre.
The committee called for the government to provide MPs with a yes or no vote on the ratification of future trade deals in a report published in December, but it was rejected.
In its response, the government said it was their role to "negotiate and enter into international treaties", adding: "This serves an important function: it enables the UK to speak clearly, with a single voice, as a unitary actor under international law.
"However, the Government is committed to ensuring that parliament is able to shape and inform negotiations throughout the process and not just at the end."
The SNP's Mr MacNeil said: "The Brexit process has shown that the government must keep parliament informed and onside if it wants to achieve its Brexit ambitions - central to which are free trade agreements.
"The government's failure to provide parliament with a meaningful role before and after negotiations may come back to haunt it in the months and years to come.
Lost in Brexit jargon?
‘Cox’s codpiece’ has entered the Brexit dictionary. Political editor Joe Watts explain why
Away from Brexit, Kurdish-led forces holding Isis families in northern Syria have denied a report that Shamima Begum’s baby has died.
The 19-year-old’s lawyer said he had received “strong but as yet unconfirmed reports” that her new-born son was dead.
More from our Middle East correspondent Richard Hall:
'Don’t worry, Labour’s position hasn’t really changed – a second referendum is still firmly on the cards', writes Sean O'Grady.
Read his column here:
The government will not have completed all of the secondary legislation needed to prepare for life after Brexit by the time of the UK's scheduled withdrawal from the EU on March 29, Downing Street has said.
A spokeswoman confirmed that certain pieces of legislation have been "deprioritised" and will be dealt with after Brexit day.
But she insisted that all "vital" changes to the statute book will be ready in time for the UK's withdrawal, whether it happens with or without a deal with the EU.
"We are on track to deliver the Statutory Instruments (SIs) we need for exit day and we have already laid over 80% of these," said Number 10.
More on Michel Barnier’s reaction to the prime minister’s speech today. The EU’s chief negotiator said the EU is ready to give Britain the unilateral right to leave the customs union in a bid to make the Brexit deal acceptable to the parliament.
He stressed, however, that Britain would still need to honour its commitment to preserve a border free of controls between EU member Ireland and the British province of Northern Ireland.
“EU commits to give UK the option to exit the Single Customs Territory unilaterally, while the other elements of the backstop must be maintained to avoid a hard border,” Mr Barnier tweeted.
Apparently the Home Office has prepared a “highly visible” publicity campaign to mark the full launch of its Brexit settlement scheme.
Adverts encouraging EU nationals to apply to secure their status in the UK will be rolled out across the country within weeks. The marketing blitz is earmarked to go live in the days before Britain formally departs on March 29, the Press Association is reporting.
The campaign will include outdoor advertising on billboards, at bus stops and rail stations, with a particular focus on areas with high populations of EU citizens.
The Home Office has allocated around £3.75 million for the first phase of the initiative. Material will also be pushed out on radio, catch-up TV, social media and websites.
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