United Kingdom

    Theresa May could be forced to stand down as prime minister if her Brexit deal is defeated in the Commons next week, a Tory former leader has warned. Eurosceptic Iain Duncan Smith cautioned against May and her cabinet deciding to brazen it out, saying such an approach would be a disaster. How the PM responds after the vote matters more than anything else she has done, he told the Daily Telegraph (£). I believe that if the response is, we’ve lost but we will do this all over again’ it will become a leadership issue. I don’t want it to be. If she and the Cabinet decide to brazen it out and simply say [a defeat of] anything under 200 is not as big as you think, then that would be a disaster. The paper reported cabinet ministers have also warned May she would have to ...

    Theresa May looks on course to suffer a heavy loss The prime minister has been warned tinkering with her Brexit deal won't cut it as she was advised to delay a looming vote on her agreement. Theresa May is facing the prospect of a heavy defeat when the House of Commons votes on her deal next Tuesday. With many MPs opposed to the so-called backstop arrangement included in the agreement struck with Brussels, it is estimated the prime minister could be at least 90 votes short of winning parliament's approval. On Thursday night, Tory backbenchers tabled an amendment to the parliamentary vote on Mrs May's deal. The clause is aimed at giving MPs a future choice on whether the UK enters the backstop arrangement a means to prevent a hard border on the island of Ireland or...

    While Christmas is a time of joy for most of us, that's not the case for the UK's most vulnerable children and young people. We've partnered with giving platform Benevity to raise funds for two charities the NSPCC and the Children's society  to try to help change that. You can help make a difference please donate now. Police will cease to automatically pass information about people suspected of being in the country illegally to deportation authorities if they come forward as victims of crime, according to a new policy hammered out in the wake of the Windrush scandal, the Guardian has learned. The new measures, agreed by police chiefs in England and Wales, include a ban on officers checking the police national computer solely to see if someone has leave to remain in ...

    The second day of the marathon Brexit deal debate in the Commons got under way as Home Secretary Sajid Javid addressed MPs. It began immediately after Prime Minister's Questions in which Theresa May was accused of hoodwinking Parliament over bombshell warnings included in the legal advice about her deal which she denied. The Government was forced to publish the legal texts in full after it was held in contempt following a motion in the Commons on Tuesday. Wednesday's debate on the Brexit deal in the Commons was focussing on security with Mr Javid leading with an opening statement and Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to deliver a closing speech.

    Theresa May has been forced to hand MPs control of Brexit after the government lost a key battle in the Commons on Tuesday. In a pivotal moment in the Brexit saga, MPs inflicted defeat on the government by throwing their weight behind a motion by Dominic Grieve. It means that, should May’s Brexit plan be voted down next week as is widely anticipated MPs can effectively instruct minsters on what to do next and amend her “plan B” option. The government lost by a sizeable 22 votes - 321 to 299 - just minutes after MPs voted to find ministers in contempt of parliament over their refusal to publish secret Brexit legal advice. The amendment move opens the door for MPs to back alternatives to May’s Brexit, including a Norway-style Brexit, a re-run of the referendum, or a...

    Theresa May today warned no-deal Brexit plan will have to be triggered if her agreement with the EU is rejected by MPs. The PM said the timetable for the UK leaving the bloc meant practical steps would have to be taken if she loses the crunch vote on December 11. She also pleaded with Tory Eurosceptics to focus on securing Brexit, saying killing off the controversial package could help those who want to frustrate the process altogether. The appeal came as she gave evidence to the powerful Liaison Committee with less than a fortnight to go before a titanic Commons showdown on her plan and Mrs May seemingly on course for disastrous defeat. Amid bruising clashes with the panel, the premier urged MPs to 'focus on the choice that lies in front of them', insisting her s...

    Nevine Mann, 36, and her husband Richard, 37, claim they have enough essentials to keep them going for four months after the UK leaves the European Union. The couple, of Illogan, Cornwall, have stockpiled chickpeas, kidney beans, tuna, pasta, rice, couscous, chopped tomatoes, sterilised milk, tinned corn, beans, paracetamol and ibuprofen. They have also bought mountains of aspirin, juice, hand soap, Calpol, dried milk, honey, tea, coffee, porridge oats, raisins, bread, flour, yeast and Marmite. The pair, who have three children, started buying extras on their weekly shopping trip when the Brexit negotiations began. Mrs Mann, a former midwife, said: A little while ago we were aware that Brexit was in the offing, and it seemed like there would be issues with securin...

    A Sky News correspondent has branded Virgin Trains a national disgrace for charging more than £300 for an open return from London to Manchester. Sports broadcaster Martha Kelner blasted the rail operator over the £338 standard class ticket in a tweet on Monday. She wrote: Just bought London to Manchester open day return. £338. That’s a national disgrace @VirginTrains. Ms Kelner's claim prompted a huge response online, gaining more than 8,500 likes and a thousand comments as frustrated rail passengers said it was cheaper to fly to countries around the world than purchase the ticket. A spokesman for Virgin Trains said: The vast majority of our customers pay far less than Martha, with fares between London and Manchester starting at £23. Martha could have booked ...

    Theresa May has invited all Labour MPs to a private Brexit briefing as she begs them to back her deal. The Prime Minister will ramp up her two-week campaign to save her deal and her career with the behind-closed-doors session at 8pm. A note sent to Labour MPs has said it will be held by her Cabinet deputy, David Lidington, and chief of staff Gavin Barwell. A Labour source said many MPs were expected to turn up. Remain-backing MP Wes Streeting tweeted: Hope this is as good as the last briefing when Boris Johnson resigned. You can’t buy that kind of entertainment. Shadow minister Andrew Gwynne joked: Do we get knighthoods for attending? Tory MP John Hayes was handed a knighthood last week but is vowing to vote down the deal anyway. Jeremy Corbyn is not expected to...

    He had spent the first four hours of his flight from London Heathrow weeping about everything he had lost in the UK and the manner of his final parting from the country he had spent most of his life in. After seven years of fighting the Home Office’s plans to deport him, the end of the road was swift and brutal. He was not even allowed to say goodbye to his loved ones. Adoboli was arrested and detained two weeks ago, was deported two days later with no written notice from the Home Office about which flight he was going to board, and arrived back in Ghana, where he had not lived since the age of four, the following day. They did a bait and switch on the tarmac at Heathrow, he says. They indicated I would be boarding one plane then at the very last moment they forced...