United Kingdom

    Brussels has slapped down Jacob-Rees Mogg after the leading Brexiteer suggested the UK should wilfully cause chaos at the EU institutions if Brexit was delayed. A spokesperson for the European Commission suggested that the Tory MP was essentially irrelevant and not involved in negotiations. This gentleman is not our interlocutor and I would say then that the principle of sincere cooperation does apply, as prime minister May herself makes clear in her letter, the spokesperson told reporters in Brussels. I would also say that this is a hypothetical question because it supposes, or presupposed an extension, which is yet to be seen by our leaders. Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator, also piled in. Seizing on Mr Mogg’s comments, he said: For ...

    No-deal is better than a bad deal was Theresa May's mantra for two years, making clear that Britain would walk away from negotiations with the EU if necessary. Her statement after the marathon cabinet meeting on Tuesday night, however, put paid to that. In a move which threatened to split her party always something she had sought to avoid Mrs May dramatically changed strategy and announced she would seek a deal with Labour support. What changed her mind? I have been told by government insiders and those close to the prime minister that the answer is the UK union. One of her inner circle said: She's fixated on the union. No-deal clearly puts huge strain on the Irish border and the consequence of that is a border poll becomes a real possibility. She thinks it wou...

    One in five British drivers have bought part-worn tyres, despite more than 98 percent being sold in an illegal state. That’s according to analysis by AA Cars suggesting our knowledge of tyres is a bit, well, rubbery. Among that one in five, one in 10 said they would never buy part-worn tyres again. But 13 percent plan to in the future. Even though a third (33 percent) of people see part-worn tyres as cost-effective, 62 percent were wrong when asked what the legal minimum tread depth was. This is 1.6mm, although many part-worn tyres are sold with around 2mm of tread remaining. Doesn’t sound like value for money to us… The kicker, though, is that more than 20 percent of drivers reckon most used tyres sold in the UK are perfectly legal. The reality, by comparison, is ...

    Theresa May has insisted working with the Labour is the only way to deliver a smooth and orderly Brexit as she wrote to Tory MPs appealing for unity ahead of PMQs. The Prime Minister addressed MPs’ concerns about the Government discussing the way forward with the Labour, before admitting that her deal is “unlikely” to pass on Tory and DUP votes. She wrote: With some colleagues unwilling to support the Government in the division lobbies, this is the only way to deliver the smooth, orderly Brexit that we promised. Her letter came as Welsh Minister and government whip Nigel Adams quit in disgust over Mrs May’s deal with Jeremy Corbyn, saying that the Prime Minister has made a grave error.

    A row has erupted after a judge spoke in court about the “fundamental human right” of a man to have sex with his wife. The remark was made by Mr Justice Hayden, who had been asked to consider imposing a court order preventing a man from having sex with his wife of 20 years because she may no longer be able to give her consent. The case had been brought to the court of protection, which considers cases where people lack the mental capacity to make their own decisions, by lawyers for a council’s social services after the condition of the woman, who has learning difficulties, began to deteriorate. Social service officials believe there is evidence that she no longer has the capacity to make decisions about whether she wants to have sex and therefore cannot freely give...

    In the political realm, no one knows how Brexit’s long running theater of the absurd will end. But for much of the business world, Britain’s departure from the European Union has effectively happened. Nearly three years of uncertainty since the June 2016 referendum has forced companies to plan for the worst the prospect that Britain could crash out of the bloc without a deal governing future relations. The twisting road to Brexit has already slowed economic growth, discouraged investment and damaged the reputation of the nation as a haven for commerce. Global banks and other financial services companies are steadily shifting thousands of jobs and more than $1 trillion (£766bn) in assets to European cities to ensure that they are able to serve customers across the E...

    Jeremy Corbyn set out plans to rebuild Britain as he declared Labour is ready to win a general election and lead us into Brexit and beyond. The Labour leader is ready to deliver his alternative plan for leaving the EU and to head a government for the many, not the few. Labour could press for a vote of no-confidence in the Government as soon as this week, as a poll put it five points ahead of the Tories. It came as pressure increased from within the Prime Minister’s inner circle to call a general election and end the Brexit deadlock. Mr Corbyn told the Mirror: We’re ready for a general election, whenever it comes. Labour has an alternative Brexit plan and we are ready to deliver it. But he added: An election must be about the future of our country, not just Brexit...

    Shamima Begum's husband has been banned from Britain after being seen as a security risk, reports claims. Dutch jihadi Yago Riedijk has reportedly been added to an exclusion list by Home Secretary Sajid Javid. It comes just weeks after ISIS bride Begum, who is living in a Syrian refugee camp, was stripped of her own British citizenship. The 19-year-old had hoped to raise the couple's third child in the UK before the newborn's death this month. Riedijk, 27, is currently being held in northern Syria and was jailed for six years in his absence in his native Netherlands for membership of a terrorist organisation. Tory MP Philip Hollobone told The Sun the ban was very welcome news.  We need to see more of this. There is going to be the threat of thousands of th...

    Theresa May has been warned by one of her senior ministers that she cannot afford to ignore the will of Parliament if it unites around a softer Brexit. With MPs set to hold a second round of indicative votes on alternatives to the prime minister’s deal on Monday, Justice Secretary David Gauke said she would have to look closely at any option that could command a majority. After 170 Tory MPs including 10 members of the Cabinet wrote to May urging her to take the UK out of the EU quickly as possible, Gauke reiterated he would resign rather than support a no deal break. Despite MPs rejecting May’s deal for a third time on Friday, Downing Street has made clear that she intends to to bring it back to the Commons for a fourth vote possibly on Tuesday or Wednesday. May h...

    Theresa May is considering bringing her Brexit deal back to the Commons for a fourth vote next week and has hinted that she may call a general election if Parliament cannot agree a way forward. I fear we are reaching the limits of this process in this House, she told MPs who voted her deal down again on Friday. Her remarks appeared to signal that she is prepared to call a General Election to try to break the deadlock. Mrs May said the vote would have grave implications and that failure to support her plan was almost certain to involve an extended delay to Brexit, with the UK required to hold elections to the European Parliament in May. Mrs May will not be able to bring her deal back to the Commons for a fourth attempt until MPs have taken part in the second round o...