Andrew Sparrow 

Government publishes latest round of no-deal Brexit planning documents – as it happened

Rolling coverage of the day’s political developments as they happen, including the latest batch of government no-deal Brexit planning papers
  
  

An anti-Brexit protester outside the House of Commons.
An anti-Brexit protester outside the House of Commons. Photograph: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

Afternoon summary

  • Business groups and anti-Brexit campaigners have restated their opposition to a no deal Brexit after ministers published 28 more technical notices explaining what firms and individuals would have to do if the UK leaves the EU without a deal. The CBI said that, for business, it would be the equivalent of being hit by a sledgehammer. (See 4.56pm.) Among other things, today’s papers show that UK driving licences will not be valid in the EU if no Brexit deal is agreed, and travellers with passports close to their expiry may be denied entry into the bloc. Ostensibly the papers are supposed to show that, although the government does not want or expect to leave the EU with no deal, it could cope. But it may also be the case that ministers would be happy for people to conclude that the documents show how unacceptable this option would be. This morning on the Today programme Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, said that MPs would ultimately have to choose between a Brexit deal modelled on Chequers and a no deal exit and he said that, when faced with this binary choice, he expected the potential Tory rebels to swallow their reservations and embrace Chequers. (See 9.42am.) Here is our summary of what is in today’s papers.
  • Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, has accused the Conservative government of implementing “the policies of Enoch Powell” in relation to immigration. In a speech setting out Labour’s immigration policy, she said:

This government and its predecessors have been deporting the Windrush generation. They have also been illegally detaining them, wrongly preventing them from re-entering this country after a trip overseas. And the government can’t or won’t say how many were bullied and threatened into becoming a so-called ‘voluntary removal’.

How can this happen? The most important factor is that official policy, ministerial rhetoric and media coverage fails to treat migrants as people. They have been numbers. They have been a problem. They have been a ‘flood’ and a ‘tidal wave’. According to Philip Hammond they have been marauding. A former Tory prime minister referred to migrants ‘swarming’ into this country. If you believe this rubbish, it’s little wonder the current prime ,inister calls for ‘deport first, and appeal later’ ...

Labour has no intention of scapegoating migrants. Like the Windrush generation, migrants usually come here to make a positive contribution to this society, economically, socially, culturally – in every way imaginable.

It is from these polices, clampdowns, “deport first, appeal later”, spurious migration targets, Go Home vans, demonization and false claims, scapegoating that you produce the hostile environment that this government has created. These were the policies of Enoch Powell. He was thrown out of the Tory cabinet for advocating them. Now, they are Tory government policy.

In her speech Abbott said that Labour would treat citizens from the EU and the rest of the world equally when applying immigration rules, that there would be no immigration target and that policy would be driven by the desire to have “the immigration we need and the migrants who are entitled to be here. No more, no less.” My colleague Jamie Grierson has written the speech up here. And you can read the full text of the speech here.

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.

Updated

Here is a link to the People’s Vote briefing on what has emerged from today’s no deal Brexit planning papers. (See 5.25pm.)

Businesses say they fear key no deal Brexit planning information being held back until after Tory conference

Here is some more business reaction to the no deal Brexit planning papers published by the government. According to the British Chambers of Commerce, some businesses suspect key information about no deal Brexit planning is being held back until after the Conservative conference.

From Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce

Firms still need greater precision from the government in order to be able to plan ahead with confidence ...

Many companies tell us they are deeply concerned by the impression that key information they need in order to prepare for change is being held back due to political sensitivities as the party conference season commences.

Speed, precision and clarity are of the essence so that businesses can prepare for change.

From Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses

With each release of the Government’s technical notes, we get a clearer picture of how dangerous and damaging a sudden no-deal Brexit will be for our small businesses.

What these technical notes highlight is the risk that in particular exporting and importing small firms will be hit with additional cost burdens and complicated levels of compliance that they simply can’t handle.

From Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium

The release of further technical notices continue to highlight the realities of a no-deal Brexit; additional red tape, resulting in extra cost burdens and bureaucracy for businesses and consumers.

People’s Vote, which is campaigning for a referendum on the final Brexit deal, has produced an analysis of today’s no deal Brexit papers. It does not appear to be on the organisation’s website yet, but here are the key points.

The technical notes make clear that:

UK driving licenses would become invalid across the EU

Expensive and annoying mobile roaming charges could return for holidaymakers

Today’s paper tries to paper over the cracks of the emerging hard-border situation in Ireland

Irish TV channels RTÉ and TG4 could disappear from terrestrial TV in Northern Ireland and International Broadcasters could have to relocate

Future funding worth billions to create jobs and support communities is at risk

Users could find themselves shut out of social networks and websites

In a press release put out by People’s Vote, the Lib Dem deputy leader Jo Swinson said:

The Brexit mess gets worse every day. It is putting prices up in the shops, costing jobs and deterring investment.

Whether we get Theresa May’s car crash or any of the proposals favoured by Jacob Rees-Mogg, Boris Johnson or any others of the Brexit elite it is clear that the cost of the Brexit shambles will rise.

That’s an excuse to use the best picture of the day. (Swinson was in the Commons for the debate on proxy voting.)

Divorce involving couples or assets in different countries could get very messy if the UK crashes out of the EU.

In one of today’s papers the government warns it “cannot guarantee” that EU courts will accept judgments stemming for cases ongoing after exit day raising the prospect of painful and contended family conflicts.

A court order, for example, for the return of a child following a holiday or maintenance of arrears, may not be heeded unless a deal is done.

There will no longer be automatic recognition for insolvency proceedings which could have ramifications for anyone seeking rights over assets in another jurisdiction.

This could have ramifications for anyone trying to recover money, shares or property in cross-border business and divorce situations.

Arlene Foster’s former special adviser knew a “tsunami” of applications was about to swamp a botched green energy scheme, but could not recall passing the warning on, the inquiry into the renewable heat incentive (RHI) scandal in Northern Ireland heard today. As the Press Association reports, Forster, now DUP leader, was finance minister at the time, in 2015, with control over the purse strings. Dr Andrew Crawford was her main party helper. The taxpayer bill for the RHI spiralled after a huge spike in applications in the weeks before cost controls were introduced later that year.

Crawford said: “I was telling them, there is a tsunami coming here, you need to move.” As the Press Association reports, Foster has said Crawford did not inform her of this.

A member of the public inquiry panel probing the matter, Dr Keith MacLean, said: “It seems very strange that that would not be passed on.” Crawford replied:

I certainly didn’t keep it from her, but I can’t sit here today and say... I gave her the information.

Evidence before the inquiry showed civil servants were aware the number of applications was increasing, and were moving to introduce cost controls.

The BBC has more from today’s evidence here.

CBI says government papers show no deal Brexit would hit firms like a sledgehammer

Britain’s leading business organisation, the CBI, has said today’s government documents show that a no deal Brexit would hit firms like a sledgehammer. In a statement Carolyn Fairbairn, the CBI’s director general, said:

These notices make clear firms would be hit with a sledgehammer in the event of ‘no deal’. They also illustrate the extent of the disruption consumers can expect if ideology wins over evidence.

Commitments to continue regional funding and maintain high environmental standards are positive. However extra costs, duplication of certification and interruptions to data flows would damage the economy, with a knock-on impact for living standards.

Raab says government "confident' it has plans in place for possible no deal Brexit

Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, told the BBC that, after this morning’s cabinet meeting devoted to reviewing preparation for a no deal Brexit, the government was “confident” it had the plans in place to cope. In a recorded clip he said:

Today cabinet looked over all the plans across government to make sure we can manage, mitigate or avoid the risk of a no-deal scenario, which is not what we want, and agree the track forward. And, we have agreed all of that plan of action with unanimity.

I think we need to be honest about this. In the event of a no-deal scenario, which is not what we want, we would face short-term risks and short-term disruption.

But what we need to have in place, and what people would expect us to have in place, is a set of plans and proposals, and the readiness amongst our institutional capacity, the staff in government, to manage those risks, avoid them where possible, or mitigate them. And that’s what we’re confident now we have got.

No 10 says Russian novichok suspects' denials are 'lies' and 'insult to public's intelligence'

At the afternoon lobby briefing Downing Street said that the claims of innocence in a TV interview from the two Russians accused by the British police of being responsible for the Salisbury novichok poisonings were “lies and blatant fabrications”. The prime minister’s spokesman said:

The lies and blatant fabrications in this interview given to a Russian-state sponsored TV station are an insult to public’s intelligence.

More importantly, the are deeply offensive to the victims and loved ones of this horrific attack. Sadly, it is what we have come to expect.

An illegal chemical weapon has been used on the streets of this country. We have seen four people left seriously ill in hospital and an innocent woman has died. Russia has responded with contempt.

Updated

Peter Foster, the Telegraph’s Europe editor, has posted a very interesting thread on Twitter about the state of the Brexit negotiations. It’s well worth reading in full. He’s at the more pessimistic end of the market, saying the talks amount to a “dialogue of the deaf” and finding it hard to see how conflicting positions can be squared. It starts here.

Just as banks need to be set up in the EU in the event of a no-deal, 1,500 channels that broadcast to Europe out of London are also legally required to be licensed in a member state to continue services.

Under EU law broadcasters need a licence in just one member state to broadcast to other states and London has become known as an international hub for channels such as Discovery, Turner, Disney and the controversial Russia Today.

While other countries including Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, have been busy wooing broadcasters, the government has little advice in the no-deal notices other than to tell TV and video-on-demand operators it is “your responsibility” to ensure they obtain a valid licence to ensure compliance.

The consumer organisation Which? says the government has not provided enough reassurance about what might happen in the event of a no deal Brexit. Its chief executive, Peter Vicary-Smith, said:

These papers are further evidence of the shambolic effects a no-deal Brexit would have for consumers. If people need to get a new passport and an international permit to drive on the continent, then travelling abroad will become significantly more challenging.

The success of Brexit will be judged by how it impacts on our everyday lives, but we’re still waiting for firm reassurances on vital issues such as flights and insurance. Without these we could be facing truly catastrophic consequences.

Turning away from Brexit for a moment, Jonathan Sacks, the former chief rabbi, who last month labelled Jeremy Corbyn an antisemite, has returned to the theme during a speech in the Lords.

Addressing a debate on antisemtism, Sacks did not refer to Labour or its leader by name, but made clear his target. He said:

Antisemitism or any hate becomes dangerous when three things happen. First, when it moves from the fringes of politics to a mainstream party and its leadership.

Second, when the party sees that its popularity with the general public is not harmed thereby. And three, when those who stand up and protest are vilified and abused for doing so. All three factors exist in Britain now. I never thought I would see this in my lifetime. That is why I cannot stay silent, for it is not only Jews who are risk. So too is our humanity.

At the debate, called by Tory peer Lord Popat, Corbyn faced a notably more personal attack from Alan Sugar, the businessman made a Labour peer in 2009, but who now sits as a crossbencher and is a vehement critic of the Labour leader.

Corbyn, Sugar said, had allowed the issue of antisemitism in the party to “ramble on for months”, and if he become prime minister it would be “the day Britain died”

Andrew Adonis, the Labour peer, former transport secretary and hardline anti-Brexit campaigner, says the shipping company rules that would apply after Brexit (see 3.20pm) could mark “the death of the cross-channel ferry”. In a statement issued by Best for Britain, he said:

This could be the death of the cross-channel ferry. Brexit will create a tanker of red tape. Gone are the days when Brexiteers could accuse the EU of creating cumbersome bureaucracy – that ship has sailed.

It is worth noting that the cross-channel ferry industry did manage to survive for many years before the UK entered the EU. Forecasting its “death” may be pushing it a bit ...

I’m expecting to wrap up the blog between 5pm and 5.30pm, but we are expecting to keep comments open until 6.30pm.

Ships would have to provide security information before they could enter EU ports under no deal Brexit, government says

Shipping companies would have to provide PAN (pre-arrival notification) security information before their vessels were allowed to enter an EU port under a no deal Brexit, one of the papers says. This could include passenger lists. The same rule would not apply to EU companies sending ships to the UK because the government intends to issue an exemption for scheduled services, the paper says.

The anti-Brexit group Best for Britain has put out a comment about the newly-discovered Brexit asteroid threat (see 2.15pm). It’s from the Labour MP Jo Stevens. She said:

It is deeply worrying that the UK will be shut out of some of the most cutting edge research in the world. This research provides thousands of high-tech jobs and provides the economy billions every year. Theresa May used to say Brexit wouldn’t be the end of the world - but actually it could be!

Nathalie Loiseau, the French Europe minister, has been speaking at a Chatham House event in London this lunchtime. As the Sun’s Steve Hawkes reports, she said planes would be grounded in the event of a no deal Brexit.

The Department for Transport would take over responsibility from the European Environment Agency for monitoring and enforcing Co2 standards on cars and vans, which means they would be responsible for helping to prevent another VW-style emissions scandal.

Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, said the government did not have a “credible plan” for a no deal Brexit, despite all the documents that have been published. He said:

We are less than 200 days until we leave the European Union and the government still has no credible plan for Brexit. The cabinet should be planning to negotiate a good deal for Britain, not planning for failure or blaming businesses for the government’s chaos.

The only reason the government is talking about no deal is because the Tory civil war on Europe prevents the prime minister from negotiating a good deal.

Scottish government says UK should consider extending article 50 to avoid 'appalling' consequences of no deal

The Scottish government says it is “appalling” that Scottish travellers (and other British travellers too, although they are most worried about the Scottish ones) could be turned away from EU countries despite having a valid passport (see 1.52pm) under a no deal Brexit. Michael Russell, the Scottish government’s constitutional relations secretary, has put out a press notice about this. He said:

The high price Scottish consumers and businesses will have to pay for Brexit becomes clearer with every passing day.

Although the Scottish government is doing everything within its power to protect Scotland as best we can, these technical notices make plain the crippling costs and needless red tape that a ‘no deal’ scenario will bring.

The fact that we are now seriously having to contemplate the possibility of Scottish and other UK travellers – including hardworking families looking forward to a relaxing holiday and business travellers – being turned away at the border of EU countries is appalling.

These technical notices lay bare the confusion that is likely to result from a ‘no deal’ Brexit, and exposes the irresponsible approach of the UK government.

Russell also said that, if it was necessary to prevent a no deal Brexit, the article 50 process should be extended (meaning the UK would remain in the EU after 29 March 2019). He said:

Time is running out for the UK government to do the right thing which, short of staying in the EU, is remaining part of the single market and customs union. That is what will protect our economy, jobs and living standards.

A ‘no deal’ Brexit should be unthinkable, which is why it should be ruled out, if necessary by extending the article 50 process.

Fears that roaming charges could return in Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit will be fuelled by the government’s failure to intervene as it has done for customers in Britain.

Roaming charges have significant impact on customers in border counties including Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Armagh who used to end up with higher bills if they picked up a signal from the Republic.

In a move that is likely to enrage border communities and business travellers, the government makes no commitment to work with the Irish government on this, saying it would be a “commercial question for the mobile operators.

UK would get less warning about space debris crashing to earth under no deal Brexit, government says

One decidedly unexpected effect of a no-deal departure would be the UK potentially getting less warning about space debris plummeting towards the Earth, whether old satellite or other debris.

The warning comes in a briefing paper on space and satellites, which notes the UK’s involvement in the EU Space Surveillance and Tracking (EUSST) programme.

Set up in 2014, this warns about risks from orbiting debris, which could pose a risk to satellites, as well as what are termed “re-entry warnings”, which alert nations to objects heading downwards from space.

The system began work in mid-2016, and is not yet fully functioning. Currently, a centre in the UK provides warnings about fragmentation of space debris, and provides a back-up service for re-entry alerts.

If the UK leaves without a deal, the document says, the country will no longer be part of the programme, both in terms of developing it further, and taking part in the system.

It is not, however, all bad news. The documents says: “The UK will continue to receive space, surveillance and tracking data from the United States of America.”

Britain and Ireland are committed to the common travel area which allows, among other thing passport-free travel for Irish and British citizens between the two islands of Ireland and Britain.

In a no-deal scenario British and Irish citizens could continue to travel freely between Britain and Ireland without seeking immigration permission, one of the documents says. They are “not required to take any action” to protect their status or rights associated with common travel area.

Irish citizens can expressly “continue to enjoy the reciprocal rights including the right to work, study, vote, access social benefits and health care”, it says. “There would be no practical changes to the UK’s approach to immigration on journeys within the CTA”.

Some UK pharmaceutical companies will face additional regulatory hurdles in the event of a no-deal Brexit, with those dealing in so-called drug percursors needing import and export licenses to trade with EU nations, which is currently not the case.

Drug percursors are chemicals with legitimate commercial uses but can also be used to make illegal drugs, and so are regulated. Currently, these can be shipped around the EU without delay or paperwork, but a no-deal Brexit would see the UK treated as a third country, needing companies to register and gain licenses, which can cost more than £3,000.

The government has vowed to maintain high environmental standards after the UK leaves the EU, upholding international agreements it has already signed up to.

One document reiterates the commitment to Michael Gove’s so-called “green Brexit” with a pledge to become the “first generation to leave the natural world in a better state than we inherited it”.

EU environmental law would continue to operate in the UK and would be updated over time with the first environment bill for more than 20 years expected to focus on issues including air quality. Until then, unspecified interim measures would be put in place.

An independent statutory body would be set up to hold the government to account on environmental standards, while EU targets are already covered by domestic law. Permits and licences issued by UK regulatory bodies will continue to apply as now.

New driving document requirement under no deal would apply to Brits in EU, but not EU drivers in UK

British drivers may have to obtain one of two different types of International Driving Permit, depending on the destination country, in order to drive in the EU on business or on holiday if there is no Brexit deal, one of the papers says. They will cost £5.50 and they will become available from Post Offices from February 1 if no proper exit deal is struck.

However, drivers holding EU driving licences will be able to drive in the UK without requiring any extra paperwork, the document says. “The UK does not require visiting motorists … to hold a separate IDP to guarantee the recognition of their driving licence.”

Updated

This is from Sky’s Faisal Islam.

The Daily Mirror’s Jason Beattie sums up what we’ve learnt so far.

Blue passports will start being issued from late 2019, government says

Travellers with less than six months on their passports may be denied entry to countries in the EU in the event of a no deal Brexit, the passport document says. It says UK citizens who plan to travel to the Schengen area after 29 March should ensure their passports have longer than six months validity. “If your passport does not meet these criteria, you may be denied entry to any of the Schengen area countries, and you should renew your passport before you travel,” the paper warns.

The no-deal paper also reveals Brits may start receiving post-Brexit blue passports by the end of 2019, towards the end of the transition period, but that is not guaranteed. It says:

Passports printed between 30 March 2019 up until the introduction of the new passport design will be burgundy but will not include the words ‘European Union’ on the front cover. This includes passports issued by the Crown Dependencies and Gibraltar.

Blue passports will start being issued from late 2019.

If you renew your passport between late 2019 and early 2020, you’ll be automatically issued with either a blue or burgundy British passport.

The document does not say whether, in the period between late 2019 and early 2020, people will be able to choose whether or not to get a (remainer, Guardian-reader) burgundy one or a (leaver, Daily Mail reader) blue one. It implies they won’t, although you can imagine that causing problems ...

Another hiccup for some businesses, notably cosmetics, could come through repercussions of a no deal on the so-called nominated persons system, by which companies have a named staff member responsible for safety and technical regulations.

While this is usually optional, such a system is mandatory for some areas, notably cosmetics, where the responsible person has to ensure products from outside the EU are safe.

After a no deal Brexit, one document warns, firms whose responsible person is based in the UK will need to find one located in an EU state, and EU companies must seek someone for the role based in the UK, if they want to sell products in Britain.

In the event of a no deal Brexit, there would be no immediate change in the UK’s own data protection standards, which were toughened up earlier this year, the data protection paper says. Personal data could still be sent from the UK to the EU.

However Brussels would need to rule whether it viewed Britain’s data protection rules to be adequate before organisations were permitted to send personal data back. Without an agreement, firms would need to identify some other legal basis for transfers.

Car firms would need new EU safety certificates to see cars in Europe under no deal Brexit, government says

In the event of a no deal Brexit, car manufacturers would need to get EU certificates showing that they comply with EU safety and environmental standards, one of the papers says. And EU manufacturers wanting to sell cars in the UK would need the equivalent UK documentation.

In a no deal scenario, type-approvals issued in the UK would no longer be valid for sales or registrations on the EU market. EC type-approvals issued outside of the UK, would no longer be automatically accepted on the UK market.

This means that affected manufacturers would need to ensure that they have the correct type-approval for each market ...

Manufacturers currently holding a VCA-issued [Vehicle Certification Agency-issued] EC type-approval, who intend to continue placing their products on the EU market, must obtain a new EC type-approval from a type-approval authority in an EU country. This process is set out in the European commission’s legislative proposal published in June this year. We expect to see agreement on this proposal in the near future. Further specific information on how the process works will be set out by the European commission in due course.

UK driving licences may no longer be valid on continent under no deal Brexit, government says

After March 2019 if there’s no deal, your driving licence may no longer be valid by itself when driving in the EU, the documents says. If you move to another EU country to live, you may not be able to exchange your licence after the UK has left the EU.

UDPATE: Here is the extract.

Updated

28 new Brexit no deal planning documents published

All 28 of the documents have now been posted here, on the Brexit website.

They have been posted alongside the documents released in August.

Here are links to the 28 new ones.

Connecting Europe Facility energy funding if there’s no Brexit deal

European Regional Development Funding if there’s no Brexit deal

European Social Fund (ESF) grants if there’s no Brexit deal

Funding for UK LIFE projects if there’s no Brexit deal

Driving in the EU if there’s no Brexit deal

Handling civil legal cases that involve EU countries if there’s no Brexit deal

Appointing nominated persons to your business if there’s no Brexit deal

Travelling with a European Firearms Pass if there’s no Brexit deal

Trading under the mutual recognition principle if there’s no Brexit dea

Trading goods regulated under the ‘New Approach’ if there’s no Brexit deal

Vehicle type approval if there’s no Brexit deal

Accessing public sector contracts if there’s no Brexit deal

Broadcasting and video on demand if there’s no Brexit deal

Merger review and anti-competitive activity if there’s no Brexit deal

What telecoms businesses should do if there’s no Brexit deal

Data protection if there’s no Brexit deal

Industrial emissions standards (‘best available techniques’) if there’s no Brexit deal

Reporting CO2 emissions for new cars and vans if there’s no Brexit deal

Upholding environmental standards if there’s no Brexit deal

Using and trading in fluorinated gases and ozone depleting substances if there’s no Brexit deal

Running an oil or gas business if there’s no Brexit deal

Trading in drug precursors if there’s no Brexit deal

Satellites and space programmes if there’s no Brexit deal

Getting an exemption from maritime security notifications if there’s no Brexit deal

Recognition of seafarer certificates of competency if there’s no Brexit deal

Mobile roaming if there’s no Brexit deal

Travelling in the Common Travel Area if there’s no Brexit deal

Travelling to the EU with a UK passport if there’s no Brexit deal

The first no deal Brexit planning document being published today has arrived. It’s about handing civil legal cases in the event of a no deal Brexit.

We’re expecting 28 documents in total, but this is the only one I can see online at the moment.

Updated

No 10 rejects Brown's warning about world being at risk of 'sleepwalking' into another financial crisis

In an interview with the Guardian, the former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown said that the world was in danger of “sleepwalking in a future [financial] crisis” because there is not enough cooperation between governments and central banks globally. My colleague Larry Elliott wrote it up here.

This morning Downing Street said that Theresa May did not agree with Brown’s warning. A spokeswoman for the prime minister said:

Since 2008 we have built one of the most robust regulatory systems in the world designed specifically to ensure financial stability and protect taxpayers.

We have, obviously, reformed regulation to put in place one of the toughest systems in the world and we have made it easier to deal with any issues that emerge on the banking front.

In recent years we have reformed regulation of the City and put in place an incredibly robust system, one of the most robust in the world, at the same time making sure it’s globally competitive.

Bank shareholders are now first in line to pay for the losses from any bank failures. They have to hold 10 times more capital than they did before the crisis, meaning that they have larger buffers.

Certainly, we have taken significant steps to safeguard our economy.

Updated

The Daily Mail has backed Theresa May’s plans for a soft Brexit and described Conservative MPs plotting to oust the prime minister during the negotiations with the EU as “traitors”, my colleague Jim Waterson reports.

The European commission has responded to the UK government’s claim that, in the event of there being no Brexit deal, it would not pay the EU the £39bn already agreed, the Telegraph’s James Crisp reports.

(It is saying it is not prepared to renegotiate the sum - although in practice, if the withdrawal agreement were to collapse and the EU wanted to recover money owed to Brussels, there would in practice have to be a renegotiation.)

In the Commons George Eustice, the fisheries minister, is making a statement about the scallop dispute with the French. He told MPs that the negotiations intended to resolve the dispute had failed.

Downing Street has confirmed that the Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, attended today’s special no-deal Brexit cabinet meeting, after he was spotted at No 10.

The Canadian, who has just extended his term for six months to provide some stability over the departure period, was at the meeting for the first half an hour, to update ministers on the bank’s plans, Theresa May’s spokeswoman said.

The cabinet meeting should be ending soon – starting at 8.30am, it was due to last around three hours, she added. We’ll hear some details on what was discussed this afternoon.

Here is Yvette Cooper, the Labour MP and chair of the Commons home affairs committee, on the Home Office’s decision not to introduce protest-free buffer zones outside abortion clinics. She said:

This is a very disappointing response from the home secretary.

The whole point of having this review was because existing powers are not working or are proving cumbersome and difficult for councils or the police to use.

Women shouldn’t ever face intimidation and harassment for going to a health care appointment that is their right.

New action is needed to prevent this kind of targeting of patients and staff right by the clinic entrance.

The government has a responsibility to make sure women’s health care rights are being respected.

Javid rules out call for protest-free buffer zones outside abortion clinics

The Home Office has rejected calls for buffer zones to be introduced outside abortion clinics across the country. In a written ministerial statement, Sajid Javid, the home secretary, said introducing protest-free areas outside clinics to prevent harassment of patients “would not be a proportionate response”. He went on:

Having considered the evidence of the review, I have therefore reached the conclusion that introducing national buffer zones would not be a proportionate response, considering the experiences of the majority of hospitals and clinics, and considering that the majority of activities are more passive in nature.

Updated

Dominic Raab's Today interview - Summary

And here is a full summary of what Dominic Raab told the Today programme, including lines from the interview not already mentioned.

  • Raab, the Brexit secretary, warned potential rebel Conservative MPs that, if they did not back a Brexit deal based on Chequers, the UK would leave the EU without a deal. (See 9.42am.)
  • He took a swipe at John Lewis, saying firms should not blame Brexit for their own failings. (See 9.15am.)
  • He insisted that the warning that, if there is no Brexit deal, the EU won’t get the full £39bn promised by the UK, was a “statement of fact”, not a threat. In an article in today’s Daily Telegraph (paywall) Raab restated what Theresa May told MPs yesterday - that, in the event of there being no deal, the government would no longer consider itself bound by the December deal that involved a commitment to pay £39bn. Asked about this, Raab said:

It’s not a threat, it’s statement of fact as part of our no-deal planning that, yes, we would be mindful of our strict legal obligations, but the amount and the phased way it is set out in the withdrawal agreement would fall away because there would be no deal.

It’s not a threat and it’s not an ultimatum, it’s a statement of fact. I don’t say anything outside of the negotiation room that I haven’t and wouldn’t directly to our EU friends and partners, and I think it is well understood on both sides.

The government is not saying that it would pay nothing to the EU in these circumstances; it is just saying that it would take a more narrow and legalistic view of its obligations, and pay less. In the interview Raab would not discuss what amount the UK would be willing to pay in these circumstances, but the Telegraph and the Daily Mail both quote sources claiming that the amount would be less than £20bn. (That implies the December deal involved the UK agreeing to pay more than £20bn more than might be strictly legally necessary. The government has never admitted that, although it has said that the December offer was partly motivated by the need to maintain good relations.)

  • Raab said that the plan for the Irish border published by the pro-Brexit European Research Group yesterday was unsatisfactory because it would keep Northern Ireland in the customs union backstop. Asked if he backed the ERG plan, he said:

The reality of the ERG proposals, and the approach of saying we would accept the EU’s offer of a Canada deal, is not to look at the small print. The EU is offering in relation to the Ceta [Canada-EU trade deal] arrangements not just the deal that they have with Canada but a backstop arrangement which for all practical purposes would leave us indefinitely in the customs union. And that’s part of the offer they’ve made. So there isn’t an easy way round this.

The ERG would dispute this; it says that its plan is specifically designed to ensure that the backstop (the fallback plan to avoid a hard border in Ireland) would not be needed.

  • He claimed that Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European commission, talked “very positively” about the Chequers plans in his state of the union speech (pdf) yesterday. This seems to be an exceedingly partial reading of the speech. Juncker did say:

In the past months, whenever we needed unity in the Union, Britain was at our side, driven by the same values and principles as all other Europeans. This is why I welcome prime minister May’s proposal to develop an ambitious new partnership for the future, after Brexit. We agree with the statement made in Chequers that the starting point for such a partnership should be a free trade area between the United Kingdom and the European Union.

But Juncker also said this, which seems to rule out the core proposal in Chequers - for the UK to effectively remain in the single market for goods, but not for services. Juncker said:

But we also ask the British government to understand that someone who leaves the union cannot be in the same privileged position as a member state. If you leave the union, you are of course no longer part of our single market, and certainly not only in the parts of it you choose.

  • Raab said that he hoped mobile phone companies would not re-introduce roaming charges for the continent in the event of a no deal Brexit. He said two companies, Vodafone and Three, had already agreed this would not happen. He said:

We’ve had some good news from businesses like Vodafone and Three. They have publicly said they wouldn’t introduce any roaming fees for UK consumers travelling on the continent.

What we have said is we would like to see other companies following suit, but, in any event, we would legislate for a limit on roaming charges to make sure in a no-deal scenario that we protect British consumers.

Updated

Back Chequers or UK will leave EU with no deal, Raab tells Tory rebels

In his Today interview Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, was also asked about the dozens of Conservative MPs who have indicated that they are opposed to Theresa May’s Chequers proposal. He effectively delivered an ultimatum: they would either have to back the Chequers plan, or see the UK leaving the EU without a deal, he said. In other words, it would be “deal or no deal”, to coin a phrase.

When it was put to him that, if May did come back from Brussels with a deal based on her Chequers plan, he replied.

No, I don’t think so. I think we’ll come back with a good deal. I think it will focus minds. And I think colleagues will look at the choices they’ve got and we all have to be responsible for that.

I do appreciate the concerns on all sides ... But when push comes to shove, there will be the choice between the deal that I’m confident we can strike with the EU and the no deal scenario. And we are making sure we are ready for the latter. But I think it would be by far the optimum outcome to have a negotiated deal, and I think that will focus everyone’s minds.

The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg says this is Downing Street’s key message at the moment.

The danger with this strategy is that, for some Tory Brexiters, “no deal” is the better option. That was apparent at the launch of the Economists for Free Trade report on the WTO option in the Commons on Tuesday.

Updated

Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, is in Downing Street for this morning’s cabinet meeting about a possible no deal Brexit, according to Steve Back, a photographer who covers Downing Street and who tweets as @PoliticalPics.

Updated

Raab takes swipe at John Lewis saying firms should not blame Brexit for their own failings

One of the more interesting political developments of the last few years has been the growing rupture between the Conservative party and big business. The Tories used to be effectively the political wing of the CBI, but Brexit has changed that and we saw a relatively small, but nevertheless telling, example of that this morning when Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, criticised John Lewis for saying Brexit was contributing to a collapse in profits.

The company announced a dire first-half profit performance this morning. Sir Charlie Mayfield, its chairman, explained:

These are challenging times in retail. Profits before exceptionals are always lower and more volatile in the first half than the second half. It is especially so this half year, driven mainly by John Lewis & Partners where gross margin has been squeezed in what has been the most promotional market we’ve seen in almost a decade.

With the level of uncertainty facing consumers and the economy, in part due to ongoing Brexit negotiations, forecasting is particularly difficult but we continue to expect full-year profits to be substantially lower than last year for the Partnership as a whole.

It was not an especially provocative statement. But when Raab was asked about it on the Today programme, instead of just sounding sympathetic, he also could not resist including a throwaway line effectively telling John Lewis to stop whingeing.

Well, I think it’s probably rather easy at this moment in time for any business that isn’t doing rather well to point to Brexit. But let me just give you the facts; this week we’ve had economic growth accelerating, we’ve had real wages accelerating, we’ve had Relx, the Anglo-Dutch business information company, revise its structure to be headquartered in the UK. So, actually, we have got positive news on the economy this week ...

I don’t doubt that some of the uncertainty around these negotiations will have an impact on business. That’s why we are putting all our energy into getting the good deal that we want with our EU friends and partners ... All I’m just gently saying is that it is rather easy for a business to blame Brexit and the politicians rather than to take responsibility for their own situation.

It was a particularly rash remark because John Lewis is about the last corporate you would expect a Conservative MP to pick a fight with; in the eyes of home counties Middle England, John Lewis is sacred.

Raab was being interviewed because the government is publishing another batch of Brexit no deal planning papers today. Here is our preview story.

Here is the agenda for the day.

8.30am: Theresa May chair a cabinet meeting to consider the government’s planning for a possible no deal Brexit. It is scheduled to last three hours.

9.30am: Diane Abbott, the shadow home secretary, gives a speech on Labour’s immigration policy. As Jamie Grierson reports, she is set to announce Labour’s vision for a fairer post-Brexit immigration system including a simplified visa regime for foreign workers.

After 11.30am: MPs hold a general debate on proxy voting in the House of Commons.

Around lunchtime: The government publishes its latest batch of no deal Brexit planning papers. We’re expecting 28, covering topics including mobile phone roaming charge, upholding environmental standards and vehicle standards.

2pm: David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, chairs a meeting of the joint ministerial committee with ministers from the devolved administrations.

As usual, I will also be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. I plan to post a summary when I wrap up, probably at around 5.30pm.

Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments BTL but normally I find it impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.

Updated

 

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