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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Boris Johnson denies cabinet Brexit split | Boris Johnson denies cabinet Brexit split |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Boris Johnson says the government is "working together" and that he will not be resigning after criticism of his intervention on Brexit. | Boris Johnson says the government is "working together" and that he will not be resigning after criticism of his intervention on Brexit. |
| The foreign secretary has been accused of undermining Theresa May with a 4,000-word article setting out his own post-EU vision. | The foreign secretary has been accused of undermining Theresa May with a 4,000-word article setting out his own post-EU vision. |
| But he told journalists the government was "a nest of singing birds". | But he told journalists the government was "a nest of singing birds". |
| Ex-chancellor Ken Clarke accused Mr Johnson of making a pitch for a future Tory leadership election. | Ex-chancellor Ken Clarke accused Mr Johnson of making a pitch for a future Tory leadership election. |
| Mr Clarke said that "in normal circumstances" Mr Johnson would have been sacked. Some reports have claimed Mr Johnson will resign if his blueprint for Brexit is not followed. | Mr Clarke said that "in normal circumstances" Mr Johnson would have been sacked. Some reports have claimed Mr Johnson will resign if his blueprint for Brexit is not followed. |
| But speaking in New York, the foreign secretary said "of course not" when asked whether he was going to quit, and predicted the government would "deliver a fantastic Brexit". | But speaking in New York, the foreign secretary said "of course not" when asked whether he was going to quit, and predicted the government would "deliver a fantastic Brexit". |
| Asked whether there was a cabinet split on Europe, Mr Johnson said: "No, we are a government working together. | Asked whether there was a cabinet split on Europe, Mr Johnson said: "No, we are a government working together. |
| "We are a nest of singing birds." | "We are a nest of singing birds." |
| Mr Johnson and Mrs May are both attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. | Mr Johnson and Mrs May are both attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York. |
| Getting on with the job | |
| Asked repeatedly about Mr Johnson and reports of cabinet disunity over Brexit, the PM stressed that the government was united in trying to get the best possible deal. | |
| "What I think the majority of the British public want to see is what we're doing, which is getting on with the job of those negotiations with the European Union and getting on with the job of the best deal for the UK," she told the BBC. | |
| Responding to questions about the so-called divorce bill for the UK to pay on leaving the EU, she said the UK was a "law-abiding nation" and would "stand by our obligations" as well as carrying on contributing to programmes it wants to be a part of after Brexit. | |
| Mr Johnson's article said the UK should not pay for access to the EU single market. | |
| He has described it as "sketching out" the "exciting landscape of the destination ahead" on Brexit. | |
| The continuing fallout from the article led, on Monday, to Mrs May having to rebut claims that Mr Johnson was trying to become a "back-seat driver" in her cabinet. | The continuing fallout from the article led, on Monday, to Mrs May having to rebut claims that Mr Johnson was trying to become a "back-seat driver" in her cabinet. |
| The prime minister, who is due to set out her vision for Brexit in a speech in Florence on Friday, declared: "This government is driven from the front." | The prime minister, who is due to set out her vision for Brexit in a speech in Florence on Friday, declared: "This government is driven from the front." |
| Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Clarke said that in her speech Mrs May had to set out "for the first time, really" what the UK can "can realistically achieve in negotiations". | Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Mr Clarke said that in her speech Mrs May had to set out "for the first time, really" what the UK can "can realistically achieve in negotiations". |
| That must include "free access to the European market and no new barriers for our trade," he argued, and how best "to avoid economic damage to the country". | That must include "free access to the European market and no new barriers for our trade," he argued, and how best "to avoid economic damage to the country". |
| "Alongside that, personal publicity and campaigning by the foreign secretary is actually just an irrelevant nuisance." | "Alongside that, personal publicity and campaigning by the foreign secretary is actually just an irrelevant nuisance." |
| Mr Clarke said: "Sounding off personally in this way is totally unhelpful and he shouldn't exploit the fact she hasn't got a majority in Parliament. | Mr Clarke said: "Sounding off personally in this way is totally unhelpful and he shouldn't exploit the fact she hasn't got a majority in Parliament. |
| "He knows perfectly well that normally the foreign secretary would be sacked for doing that - and she, unfortunately, after the general election, is not in the position easily to sack him - which he should stop exploiting." | "He knows perfectly well that normally the foreign secretary would be sacked for doing that - and she, unfortunately, after the general election, is not in the position easily to sack him - which he should stop exploiting." |
| He also attacked Mr Johnson for repeating "one of the more simplistic and dishonest arguments of the hardline Leavers" in his article - a reference to "taking back control" of £350m a week after Brexit. | He also attacked Mr Johnson for repeating "one of the more simplistic and dishonest arguments of the hardline Leavers" in his article - a reference to "taking back control" of £350m a week after Brexit. |
| "They use money because it appeals to the public, who don't, I think, follow very closely the details," he told Today. | "They use money because it appeals to the public, who don't, I think, follow very closely the details," he told Today. |
| "You tell people we are giving money to foreigners and quite a lot of the public are against it." | "You tell people we are giving money to foreigners and quite a lot of the public are against it." |
| He said that if there are genuine disagreements in cabinet over Brexit, then it was in the "national interest" to "compromise" and abide by collective responsibility. | He said that if there are genuine disagreements in cabinet over Brexit, then it was in the "national interest" to "compromise" and abide by collective responsibility. |
| Mr Johnson used his Telegraph article to insist that Britain should pay nothing to access the EU single market, amid reports Mrs May will use her Florence speech to say the UK will carrying on paying for access during a three year transition period after Brexit. | Mr Johnson used his Telegraph article to insist that Britain should pay nothing to access the EU single market, amid reports Mrs May will use her Florence speech to say the UK will carrying on paying for access during a three year transition period after Brexit. |
| The foreign secretary, who made much of the savings the UK would make when it left the EU during last year's referendum campaign, said on Monday that his article was meant to be an "opening drum roll" for the PM's speech. | The foreign secretary, who made much of the savings the UK would make when it left the EU during last year's referendum campaign, said on Monday that his article was meant to be an "opening drum roll" for the PM's speech. |
| "Because I was involved in that Brexit campaign, people want to know where we are going," he added. | "Because I was involved in that Brexit campaign, people want to know where we are going," he added. |
| Mrs May attempted to avoid a public row with her foreign secretary, telling reporters travelling with her on a trade mission to Canada: "Boris is Boris." | Mrs May attempted to avoid a public row with her foreign secretary, telling reporters travelling with her on a trade mission to Canada: "Boris is Boris." |
| The prime minister and Mr Johnson are due at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, where the PM will hold a series of meetings with fellow leaders, including US President Donald Trump. There will be talks on fighting online extremism and on modern slavery. | The prime minister and Mr Johnson are due at the United Nations in New York on Tuesday, where the PM will hold a series of meetings with fellow leaders, including US President Donald Trump. There will be talks on fighting online extremism and on modern slavery. |
| No formal meeting is planned between Mrs May and Mr Johnson. | No formal meeting is planned between Mrs May and Mr Johnson. |
| Former foreign secretary, Lord Hague, writing in the Daily Telegraph, warned that disunity over Brexit could hand power to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party. | Former foreign secretary, Lord Hague, writing in the Daily Telegraph, warned that disunity over Brexit could hand power to Jeremy Corbyn's Labour Party. |
| Lord Hague wrote: "It is putting it a bit too politely to say, in the wake of Boris Johnson's article in this newspaper on Saturday, that the approach of senior ministers to the Brexit negotiations appears to lack co-ordination. | Lord Hague wrote: "It is putting it a bit too politely to say, in the wake of Boris Johnson's article in this newspaper on Saturday, that the approach of senior ministers to the Brexit negotiations appears to lack co-ordination. |
| "More bluntly, it is now 15 months since the referendum, and high time that all members of the government were able to express themselves on this subject in the same way as each other, putting forward the same points, as part of an agreed plan. | "More bluntly, it is now 15 months since the referendum, and high time that all members of the government were able to express themselves on this subject in the same way as each other, putting forward the same points, as part of an agreed plan. |
| "Hopefully, that happy circumstance will follow the speech the prime minister is due to give on the subject in Florence on Friday. | "Hopefully, that happy circumstance will follow the speech the prime minister is due to give on the subject in Florence on Friday. |
| "If not, there will be no point Conservatives discussing who is going to be the foreign secretary, chancellor or prime minister in the coming years, because Jeremy Corbyn will be prime minister, sitting in Number 10 with John McDonnell and Diane Abbott, completely ruining this country." | "If not, there will be no point Conservatives discussing who is going to be the foreign secretary, chancellor or prime minister in the coming years, because Jeremy Corbyn will be prime minister, sitting in Number 10 with John McDonnell and Diane Abbott, completely ruining this country." |