United Kingdom

    Nathalie Loiseau, the minister for European affairs, said it was correct that both trains and planes from the UK would be barred without an exit agreement. If we reach no agreement this is what will happen, among other things, Ms Loiseau told an event in London. The warning comes one week after a secret Treasury document acknowledged there were questions about rail access to the EU if there is a no-deal Brexit. But No 10 refused to discuss what was meant by the reference on the Operation Yellowhammer document, photographed as a minister carried it into a Whitehall meeting. The government has previously acknowledged that planes would be grounded without a post-Brexit agreement, while insisting the prospect was remote. However, the UK’s attempts to prepare side dea...

    The Brexit Secretary’s tough talking comes after Prime Minister Theresa May made clear that without a deal the UK’s position changes on the exit settlement. Ramping up the pressure further on the bloc, Mr Raab said there is no deal without the whole deal ahead of his crunch talks with Michel Barnier later on Thursday. Writing in the Daily Telegraph, he said the Government wanted to reach a good agreement, but added: It will require our EU friends to match the ambition and pragmatism we have demonstrated. If that doesn't happen, the UK will manage the challenges of no-deal, so we make a success of Brexit. The Brexit Secretary also accused people who warned about shortages of food and medicines after a no-deal withdrawal of scaremongering. They also follow reports ...

    British travellers could be getting up to nine months less validity on their passports after new changes were discreetly brought in this week. Prior to the new rules, which were implemented on Monday 10 September, any time you had left on your existing passport would be added on your new one, with the maximum allowance being nine months. But at least a handful of people have fallen foul of the Government's new under-the-radar changes, as those with existing time on their travel documents did not have it carried over onto their new passport. MoneySavingExpert revealed at least four Britons were caught out by the change, and the Passport Office confirmed the new policy meant time on the old documents was not carried forwards. It comes as a heavy blow to people looki...

    President Vladimir Putin says Russia has identified the two men suspected of poisoning a former Russian spy in Britain. Speaking at an economic forum in Vladivostok, the Russian leader said the pair suspected of the attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were civilians. British police have identified the pair as Alexander Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov and claimed they were members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service. But Mr Putin said: We know who they are, we have found them. They are civilians, of course. It comes amid claims the pair had a 'back up' team with four more suspects still thought to be at large. The two alleged assassins are also said to have visited the UK several times, posing as wealthy Russians, so that ...

    Britain is in the grip of a spice epidemic with use of the zombie drug escalating, out of control, experts warn. A Mirror probe reveals the scale of the crisis as ­thousands of people are feared hooked. Amid calls for a crackdown on dealers, Unison rep Richard Bentley said: It’s getting worse and worse, reaching epidemic proportions. Richard, a Unison rep who works in Leeds, added: “Recently, the first two hours of my shift were taken up dealing with people smoking spice and in a zombie-like state. He told how many users they care for live on the streets, where they can get hold of the drug a former legal high for as little as £5 a bag. Richard said: They are using it as escapism. Emergency services are struggling to cope with the spice crisis and there are demand...

    Conservative MPs have held an open discussion on how to oust Theresa May from Downing Street, according to Sky sources. About 50 MPs are thought to have gathered for a private meeting to discuss how to remove the prime minister. Many of them are still unhappy with her Brexit strategy despite EU negotiator Michel Barnier suggesting a deal could be reached by the start of November. Sky News understands that opposition towards Mrs May has increased over the summer recess, and former Brexit minister Steve Baker has warned she faces a tremendous amount of political crisis and rupture if she does not ditch her Chequers plan for leaving the EU. At least 48 letters of no confidence need to be submitted to 1922 Committee chairman Sir Graham Brady to trigger a vote on her p...

    Theresa May Theresa May risks a catastrophic split in her party if she persists with her Chequers plan for Brexit at this month's Conservative conference, a former minister has warned. Steve Baker, who quit as a Brexit minister in July, claims at least 80 MPs are prepared to vote down the Chequers plan in the Commons. It comes as ex-foreign secretary Boris Johnson moved on from describing the Chequers blueprint as a suicide vest to suggesting the UK should slash taxes after Brexit. Mr Baker, the former chairman of the Eurosceptic European Research Group, said Mrs May faces a massive problem because of the scale of opposition to Chequers among Tory grassroots members. With just 200 days to go to the scheduled date of Brexit, Mr Baker said that the PM would lack cre...

    The rare viral infection was recorded on Friday in a Nigerian national staying at a naval base in Cornwall, Public Health England (PHE) said. The patient was transferred to the expert infectious disease unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London on Saturday morning. They are believed to have contracted the infection in Nigeria before travelling to the UK. PHE said monkeypox does not spread easily and most patients recover within a few weeks, but it can cause severe illness in some people. Initial symptoms include fever, headache, aching muscles, backache, swollen lymph nodes, chills and exhaustion. A rash can also develop, usually starting on the face before spreading to other parts of the body. It eventually forms a scab which falls off. PHE said that as a preca...

    Boris Johnson has accused Theresa May of wrapping a suicide vest around Britain and handing the detonator to Brussels. Barely 24 hours after the former foreign secretary announced that he and his wife Marina Wheeler are to end their 25-year marriage, Mr Johnson used an article in the Mail On Sunday to dramatically turn up the heat on the prime minister. He wrote: At every stage in the talks so far, Brussels gets what Brussels wants. We have agreed to the EU's timetable; we have agreed to hand over £39bn, for nothing in return. Now under the Chequers proposal, we are set to agree to accept their rules forever with no say on the making of those rules. It is a humiliation We look like a seven-stone weakling being comically bent out of shape by a 500lb gorilla. And ...

    The Streatham MP made the comments after leading pro-Israel MP claimed so-called moderates faced a clear and present danger of being run out of the party by hard-left factions. Ms Ryan blamed the result on Trots, Stalinists, Communists and assorted hard-left, while Mr Shuker, who was elected in 2010, said: I’ve not changed, but the Labour Party has. In a speech to the centre-left group Progress on Saturday, Mr Umunna is expected to say MPs are being targeted for standing up for zero tolerance of racism. More motions such as this are expected by colleagues, he will say. My message to our leadership: it is within your power to stop this so call off the dogs and get on with what my constituency, one of the most diverse communities in the nation, demands we do without...