UK politics - as it happened: Senior Tories tell Theresa May to listen to business as Jaguar Land Rover issues Brexit warning
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Your support makes all the difference.Theresa May is facing pressure to heed warnings from business leaders on Brexit ahead of a crunch cabinet meeting where she will try to unite her warning ministers on EU exit terms.
More than 40 Tory MPs have written to the prime minister, urging her dismiss any potential Brexit deal "without our trading, enterprising and innovative businesses and their employees at its heart".
It comes as car giant Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said a hard Brexit would hit its profits by £1.2bn, and insisted that it needs "greater certainty" to continue to invest and support more than 40,000 British jobs.
The warning follows similar statements from Airbus and BMW, and a wider sense of discomfort among among firms after Boris Johnson reportedly declared "f*** business".
Owen Paterson, a former Conservative minister, also told the Today programme that firms would be "better off" if the UK leaves the customs union as they will "have access to cheaper parts and components all around the world and European suppliers will be forced to compete".
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Sajid Javid said that more than 100 counter-terrorism detectives were working on the Amesbury case.
He said the risk to the public remained low, adding: "We have taken a very robust approach to decontamination and there is no evidence that either the man or the woman in hospital visited any of the places that were visited by the Skripals.
"Our strong working assumption is that the couple came into contact with the nerve agent in a different location to the sites which have been part of the original clean-up operation."
He also warned against a possible Kremlin disinformation campaign, telling MPs: "We have already seen multiple explanations from state sponsored Russian media regarding this latest incident.
"We can anticipate further disinformation from the Kremlin as we saw following the Salisbury attack."
Earlier, Esther McVey faced accusations that she is still misleading MPs about a watchdog’s severe criticisms of universal credit, as she faced fresh calls to resign.
Dragged to the Commons for the second successive day, the work and pensions secretary continued to insist that the National Audit Office (NAO) warnings about the controversial new benefit were out of date - something it has rejected.
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The European Parliament has voted against an incredibly controversial new set of copyright rules that campaigners claim could "ban memes".
The law will now be sent for a full reconsideration and debate inside the parliament, during which activists will try and remove the controversial Article 11 and 13.
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Labour's antisemitism code of conduct is already drawing criticism in some quarters.
Jonathan Goldstein, chairman of the Jewish Leadership Council, and Marie van der Zyl, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, said: "It is for Jews to determine for themselves what anti-Semitism is.
"The UK Jewish community has adopted in full the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance definition of anti-Semitism, as have the British Government, Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament, 124 local authorities across the country and numerous governments around the world.
"It is impossible to understand why Labour refuses to align itself with this universal definition. Its actions only dilute the definition and further erode the existing lack of confidence that British Jews have in their sincerity to tackle anti-Semitism within the Labour movement."
Labour Against Anti-Semitism described the code as "a racists' charter that will actively hinder the campaign to remove anti-Semitism from the Labour Party".
The group said that the recommendations omit "significant aspects" of the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism and "misrepresent other aspects, leaving a toothless document that will only encourage Jew-hate in the Labour Party to flourish further, unchallenged and unpunished".
"The Labour Party already has very little credibility left as the anti-racist body it has always claimed to be," said LAAS in a statement. "The formal adoption of this document would see any remaining credibility lost, perhaps permanently. We urge the Labour leadership to think again."
46 Conservative MPs have written to Theresa May demanding she listen to business leaders when deciding the government's Brexit negotiating position.
A number of former cabinet ministers and chairs of parliamentary committees are among senior Tories who have signed the letter, which calls on the prime minister to "listen to the voice of business now".
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A giant balloon depicting Donald Trump as an angry, orange baby will fly near parliament during the US president's controversial visit to the UK next week.
Permission for the 20ft high inflatable, dubbed "Trump Baby", to rise above Parliament Square Gardens for two hours on the morning of Friday, July 13 has been granted to protesters by the Greater London Authority.
Mr Trump is expected to arrive in the capital the evening before the planned stunt and is likely to visit Blenheim Palace, meet the Queen at Windsor, hold talks with Prime Minister Theresa May at Chequers, and travel to his golf courses in Scotland during the trip.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan and the American leader have engaged in a long-running war of words over issues like crime and terrorism.
Activist Leo Murray said: "We didn't get off to the best start with the Mayor's office over this, who originally told us that they didn't recognise Trump Baby as legitimate protest.
"But, following a huge groundswell of public support for our plan, it looks like City Hall has rediscovered its sense of humour. Trump Baby will fly."
The chair of the European Council has suggested he is open to extending Article 50 Brexit talks, opening the door to Britain potentially staying in the EU beyond March next year.
Sebastian Kurz, the Austrian chancellor, currently holds the rotating presidency of the European institution, which gives him significant procedural clout in setting the agenda for summits and meetings of the bloc’s leaders.
Speaking at a press conference in Vienna on Thursday, Mr Kurz said he would be “in favour of pursuing negotiations rather than have a hard Brexit”.
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Speculation is mounting about the Brexit white paper, which the cabinet is due to discuss tomorrow.
The Spectator's political editor, who is well connected in Tory circles, has published a piece claiming Ms May's proposed deal would rule out a US/UK free trade deal.
We should get an update from the regular lobby briefing shortly.
Expect fireworks from Brexiteers.
It is "categorically untrue" that the post-Brexit relationship with the EU envisaged by Theresa May would make a trade deal with the US impossible, Downing Street has said.
A No.10 spokesperson said: "The prime minister has always been clear that we will seek a comprehensive and ambitious trade deal with the US that reflects the strengths of our trading and investment relationship.
"The president himself has always made it clear that he is keen to sit down and talk with the UK about that. The president and prime minister will have an opportunity to talk about it next week.
"It is categorically untrue to suggest that we will not be able to strike a trade deal with the US."
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