Brexit talks - as it happened: Michel Barnier tells UK 'time has come to make a choice' on customs union
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May has held meetings with the EU’s chief negotiator in London after Downing Street confirmed Britain will “categorically” leave the customs union after Brexit.
After speaking with the Prime Minister over a working lunch, Michel Barnier then held a brief press conference with the Brexit Secretary David Davis.
He warned Ms May that trade barriers are “unavoidable” if she carries out her plan to leave the customs union, adding that “the time has come to make a choice”.
Mr Barnier also appeared to rebuff Mrs May’s apparent attempt to deny full settlement rights to EU citizens who arrive in the UK after Brexit day – but before the end of a transition period.
It comes as the Prime Minister prepares to meet her 11-member Brexit war-cabinet later this week to thrash out the Government’s vision for the so-called “end state”.
Reassuring Conservative Brexiteers on Sunday evening a Downing Street source insisted the UK would “categorically [be] leaving the customs union” after reports that Ms May had softened her stance.
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This is a helpful profile of Michel Barnier from the Press Association
Michel Barnier was a little known Eurocrat when he was charged with going up against Britain in Brexit talks, but the job has made him one of the most high profile figures in Brussels.
The seasoned diplomat has insisted he does not want to punish the UK for quitting the European Union, but his steadfast approach during the negotiations has infuriated hard-line Brexiteers.
Mr Barnier has so far managed to maintain unity across the 27 remaining countries in the bloc throughout the talks and has stuck unwaveringly to the remit he was set.
It is widely believed that he has fresh ambitions to become president of the Commission following a failed bid in 2014, and such an aim would give him an added incentive to deliver a deal viewed as favourable to the remaining 27.
Mr Barnier first locked horns with Brexit Secretary David Davis in the 1990s when they were both Europe ministers.
His appointment to the role of EU chief Brexit negotiator by Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker was viewed as an aggressive move.
Mr Barnier was dubbed the "most dangerous man" in Europe in some quarters of the press when he was appointed internal market commissioner with powers over financial regulation in the wake of the financial crash.
He is said to have angered the usually-cool Sir Mervyn King to such an extent during one meeting that the then Bank of England governor was still shaking with rage an hour after it ended.
Mr Barnier, 67, who is married with three children, always insisted the fears about his role in regulating the City were "unfair and unjust" and said he went into the role wanting to "build a compromise".
He became involved in French politics as a teenager and later came to prominence after running the successful bid to secure the 1992 Winter Olympics for his country.
A key figure in centre-right politics, he served as minister for the environment, European affairs, foreign affairs and agriculture under presidents Jacques Chirac and Nicolas Sarkozy.
He was named special adviser for defence and security by Mr Juncker last year and released a paper calling on Brussels to "respond to the security imperatives of today and achieve tangible progress in charting a course towards a common Union defence policy for the future".
Uh oh... is another transatlantic row on the cards? Donald Trump has just tweeted criticising the NHS. The US President said the UK health system is "going broke and not working" - a claim Downing Street will most likely feel compelled to rebut. It comes just ten days after the Davos meeting at which Mr Trump and Ms May patched things up following their dispute over the President retweeting leaders of the far-right group Britain First.
https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/96048https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/9604861448184504326144818450432
More on Donald Trump's attack on the NHS from the Press Association:
Donald Trump has hit out at the NHS, claiming it is "going broke and not working".
The US president made the attack as he targeted Democrats pushing for a British-style universal health system.
He said "thousands of people are marching" in the UK because of concerns about the state of the NHS.
Mr Trump's message on Twitter came after a crowd of thousands chanting "Save the NHS" descended on Downing Street on Saturday to demand more funding for the health service.
Marching through central London to draw attention to the NHS funding shortage, people carried placards urging "Kick the Tories out" and "More staff, more beds, more funds".
The demonstration, called NHS In Crisis: Fix It Now" was organised by the People's Assembly and Health Campaigns Together.
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has just tweeted his response to Donald Trump's comments on the NHS.
The Open Britain campaign against a "hard" Brexit warned that the prospect of a trade deal with US President Donald Trump posed a threat to the NHS.
Labour former health minister Ben Bradshaw said: "Our pharmaceutical companies are already having to divert money that could have been spent on research into new treatments into preparing for Brexit.
"Yet even that is not the worst we can expect from Brexit. That will come in the form of the orange peril, Donald Trump, and what he will demand as the price for any trade deal Theresa May or her successor signs."
An open letter signed by more than 100 politicians from Labour, the Liberal Democrats, SNP, Plaid Cymru and Green Party warned that "Brexit is not a panacea to the NHS crisis" and "instead of providing answers, it simply creates more problems".
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