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As it happenedended1538331142

Conservative conference - as it happened: Boris Johnson denounced as 'irrelevant and offensive' from main stage

Ashley Cowburn
Political Correspondent, in Birmingham
Sunday 30 September 2018 19:12 BST
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Conservative Party Conference: Five things to watch

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Boris Johnson has been denounced from the stage of the Conservative Party conference as "irrelevant" and an "offensive person" by Lord Digby Jones for his contentious remarks about businesses.

It comes after the party was hit by a humiliating security gaffe in the official conference app, which allowed members of the public to access the contact details and mobile phone numbers of senior members of the government and prominent journalists.

On Sunday - the first day of the party's annual conference in Birmingham - a sizeable protest also took place in Birmingham as demonstrators demanded a second public vote on the final Brexit deal.

This liveblog has now closed - follow again tomorrow for day two of the Conservative Party conference

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Meanwhile... in Labour circles

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 16:17
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Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 16:22
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Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, is now speaking in the main conference hall. He says he wants to increase the number of cadets in schools from 43,000 to 60,000. 

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 16:41
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Foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt is now on his feet. He says meeting world leaders is "peanuts" to the diplomacy you need at home when you call your Chinese wife Japanese.

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 16:57
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On Brexit, Hunt says: "Never mistake British politeness for British weakness. 

"Because if you put a country like Britain in a corner, we don't crumble. We fight.  

"So as your friends of many years we say simply this: Brexit is not about whether you succeed or we succeed.  Europe prospers when we both succeed and it's time to change your approach." 

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 17:01
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Jeremy Hunt: "The lesson from history is clear: if you turn the EU club into a prison, the desire to get out won’t diminish it will grow...and we won’t be the only prisoner that will want to escape."

Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 17:04
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Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 17:40
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Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 18:08
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Ashley Cowburn30 September 2018 18:09

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