United Kingdom

    Jeremy Corbyn could face up to a dozen resignations from the Labour frontbench if the party backs a second referendum as a way out of the Brexit crisis. A string of junior shadow ministers have told the Guardian they are strongly opposed to the idea of a second referendum, which they fear would expose Labour to a vicious backlash in leave-voting constituencies. Corbyn refused to enter talks with Theresa May on Thursday until she rules out the idea of a no-deal departure and demanded that his party’s MPs refuse similar invitations. Later May wrote to Corbyn telling him that ruling out no-deal was “an impossible condition” and calling on him to join cross-party discussions. In a further development, a poll conducted by YouGov of more than 1,000 voters on Wednesday fo...

    A 38-year-old man is dying from heart failure after being denied treatment under UK immigration rules, prompting renewed criticism of the Home Office’s hostile environment policies. Nasar Ullah Khan has been living in the UK for nine years and is suffering from a serious heart condition which deteriorated into a terminal illness, but he was told he was not eligible for a potentially life-saving transplant because he does not have leave to remain in the country. The Pakistani citizen has now launched a fundraising appeal to help his wife and two young sons visit him before he dies, but their visa is still being processed and the family believes it is unlikely it will be granted in time. He is one of hundreds of patients who have been denied treatment for serious hea...

    Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced plans to call up armed forces reservists to deal with a potential no deal Brexit. The order, published this morning, allows the government to place reserve units on active service for a year from February 10. Defence Minister Mark Lancaster, announcing the order, said: Reserve Forces will be on standby to deliver a range of Defence outputs such as: reinforcement of Regular sub-units, liaison officer roles and the provision of specialist skills. We would also expect Reserves to be drawn upon to support the implementation of contingency plans developed by Other Government Departments. Best for Britain supporter Ian Murray MP said: Calling up the reserves shows just how serious the threat of a ‘no deal’ Brexit is. It ...

    The European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator has opened the door to re-opening talks about the EU and UK’s future relationship if Theresa May ditches some of her negotiating red lines. Speaking the morning after MPs rejected the prime minister’s deal, Michel Barnier said that the European Council unanimously agreed and had always said that if the UK chooses to shift its red lines in the future, and if it makes that choice to be more ambitious and to go beyond a simple free trade agreement, then the EU will be immediately ready to go hand in hand with that development and give a favourable response. Ms May has said she wants to end freedom of movement, leave the single market, customs union, and jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice limiting the scope of her ...

    MPs will today vote on Theresa May's Brexit deal after she has spent weeks trying to sell it to Parliament despite a fierce backlash. Parliament will decide whether or not to back the Prime Minister's EU exit plans in a vote on Tuesday night. Voting is due to begin at 7pm and could continue for around two hours as Speaker John Bercow has called four amendments before the final meaningful vote on the deal. It follows weeks of fighting in Westminster over Brexit with MPs on all sides of the House of Commons expressing their opposition to Mrs May's deal.

    Parliament is more likely to block Britain's exit from the European Union than allow it to crash out without a deal, Theresa May is set to warn as she launches a last-ditch plea to MPs to back her Brexit deal. The Prime Minister will use a speech on the eve of the critical Commons vote on her exit plan to urge MPs to consider the "consequences" of their actions on the faith of British people in democracy. She is expected to reiterate her warning that "catastrophic harm" will be inflicted to trust in politicians if they fail to implement the result of the referendum. With less than 36 hours to go until the long-awaited vote, Mrs May will say, based on last week's Westminster drama, that she now believes MPs blocking Brexit is a more likely outcome than leaving witho...

    Theresa May has warned of a catastrophic and unforgivable breach of trust in democracy if MPs reject her Brexit deal and the UK remains in the European Union. With just two days to go before the Commons vote on her withdrawal agreement, the Prime Minister pleaded with parliamentarians to “do what is right for our country” and back her controversial exit plan. Mrs May said the UK risks crashing out of the EU without a deal or, if MPs are “unwilling” to face the uncertainty of no deal, then the UK may not leave at all. In what she described as the biggest and most important decision that any MP of our generation will be asked to make, the Prime Minister said it was time for politicians to deliver for the people. Writing in the Sunday Express, Mrs May said: You, the ...

    Theresa May is said to be facing intense pressure to call a spring General Election in an attempt to quash opposition to a no-deal Brexit. Senior ministers are attempting to force the PM to call for a vote on April 4 so that Tory rebels trying to thwart Brexit can be stopped, according to the Daily Mail. Over a dozen Remainer Conservative MPs have said they will back a no-confidence vote to force the election if no deal was looking likely. Despite Mr Corbyn’s desire for a General Election, Labour remain behind the Tories in recent opinion polls. A poll of polls for 2018 also put Labour on 38% – just 1% behind the Tories, while Mrs May outscores Mr Corbyn on who would make the best PM. But Brexit supporters in the party are said to be urging Mrs May to decide to h...

    A people smuggler has boasted of getting 300 migrants across the Channel to the UK. The Afghan fixer named Anam told undercover reporters that he helps set up speedboat crossings to the UK for £6,000 per person in a speedboat. He said he can also set up the crossing in a riskier three-metre dinghy for the lower price of £2,500. But he claimed he didn’t take the payments himself and instead they had to be made via family or friends to an Indian restaurant in west London. He said he could virtually make a guarantee of residency in Britain to would-be migrants because the police ‘never send you back’ even if they ‘catch you’. Anam, 28, is based in Calais and said he has already been booted out of the UK twice. Using a British mobile phone to run the illegal operati...