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| Brexit: Jo Johnson, brother of Boris Johnson, to stand down – live news | Brexit: Jo Johnson, brother of Boris Johnson, to stand down – live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Jo Swinson, the Lib Dem leader, issued this statement welcoming Luciana Berger to her party. (See 11.14am.) Swinson said: | |
| Luciana is a passionate advocate for women’s and LGBT+ rights, and she’s at the forefront of efforts to counter antisemitism and prevent discrimination. I’m delighted to welcome her to the Liberal Democrats, where we can work together to stop Brexit and build a fairer, more equal society for all. | |
| Luciana becomes the fourth MP in three months to cross the floor and join the Liberal Democrats. We’re thrilled to add her perspective, expertise and skills to our ever-growing parliamentary team. | |
| The Liberal Democrats are growing in strength as we lead the fight to stop Brexit altogether. We are fully behind a people’s vote, and we are the rallying point for remainers and the liberal centre ground. | |
| The other MPs who have joined the Lib Dems recently are Chuka Umunna, Sarah Wollaston and Phillip Lee. | |
| And this is what Berger said in a statement about her move. | |
| This is a moment of national crisis. The Liberal Democrats are unequivocal in wanting to stop Brexit and are committed to securing Britain’s future as a tolerant, open and inclusive society. | |
| I am joining Jo Swinson and the Liberal Democrats today, in the national interest, to offer a vital, positive alternative to Johnson and Corbyn and help build a future that our country deserves. | |
| Rachel Johnson, sister of Boris and Jo, claims the family avoids discussing Brexit, especially over meals. | |
| I’m afraid to say this is rubbish. I said last night at a charity do that the family avoids the topic of Brexit especially at meals as we don’t want to gang up on the PM! https://t.co/IDXB1DrEN0 | |
| Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, also raised Jo Johnson at first minister’s questions, the Sun’s Chris Musson reports. | |
| Tap-in for @NicolaSturgeon at #FMQs: "Boris Johnson's own brother can't stomach the direction he's taking the country in. The question is why should the people of Scotland be forced to put up with it?" | |
| Here is Angela Rayner, the shadow education secretary, on Jo Johnson’s resignation. | |
| Boris Johnson poses such a threat that even his own brother doesn’t trust him. | |
| We have now had four higher education ministers in two years - just the latest sign of the chaos that the Tories have caused to education and the threat that a disastrous no-deal Brexit poses to our colleges and universities. | |
| We need a general election as soon as no-deal is off the table, so that a Labour government can transform our education system and society so they work for the many, not just a privileged few. | |
| In the Brexit committee Michael Gove has just finished answering a series of questions about how Dover would cope with lorry arrivals in the event of a no-deal Brexit. Hilary Benn, the committee chair, did not sound hugely reassured, and he concluded by asking Gove to admit that no one actually knows what will happen in the event of no deal. Gove did not contest this, but replied: | |
| The future is known only to the Almighty. | |
| Benn said unfortunately the Almighty would not be appearing as a witness. | |
| Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay has declined to give assurances to Labour that the government is not “rowing back” on commitments on Ireland enshrined in the joint report signed by the EU and the UK in December 2017 that bookmarked the end of the first phase of Brexit talks. | |
| He was challenged by the shadow Brexit secretary, Keir Starmer, during Brexit questions in the Commons this morning to deny reports that it was “rowing back” on the commitments. Barclay replied: | |
| There is no rowing back from the Belfast/Good Friday agreement. That’s an area of common accord between us. | |
| Starmer reminded him he was asking him about the 2017 joint report, not the peace deal. “I asked a careful question and I got a careful answer and it [the answer] wasn’t to confirm full commitment,” said Starmer. | |
| According to reports by RTE’s Tony Connelly, officials in the EU were told that London was trying to reduce its commitments made in the report, which nearly torpedoed talks after the DUP objected to guarantees on north-south trade on the island of Ireland. | |
| RTE said officials were told that Boris Johnson was moving from its commitment to “frictionless trade” to “as frictionless as possible” on the island of Ireland and resisting the agreed ambition for a “legally operable” solution for the island of Ireland and replacing it with “aspirational measures”. | |
| From Sky’s Adam Parsons | From Sky’s Adam Parsons |
| BREAKING: Michel Barnier has postponed a visit to Belfast on Monday, saying it would be an “inappropriate” time to visit and that Westminster has reached “a moment of truth”. Notable that Boris Johnson is due to visit Dublin on the same day@skynews | BREAKING: Michel Barnier has postponed a visit to Belfast on Monday, saying it would be an “inappropriate” time to visit and that Westminster has reached “a moment of truth”. Notable that Boris Johnson is due to visit Dublin on the same day@skynews |
| This is from the Press Association. | This is from the Press Association. |
| A Number 10 spokesman said Jo Johnson had been “a brilliant, talented minister and a fantastic MP”, and the prime minister “as both a politician and brother understands this will not have been an easy matter for Jo”. | A Number 10 spokesman said Jo Johnson had been “a brilliant, talented minister and a fantastic MP”, and the prime minister “as both a politician and brother understands this will not have been an easy matter for Jo”. |
| But No 10 still has not yet clarified whether Jo Johnson is leaving the government today, or at the election. | But No 10 still has not yet clarified whether Jo Johnson is leaving the government today, or at the election. |
| Here is a live feed of Michael Gove giving evidence to the Brexit committee. | Here is a live feed of Michael Gove giving evidence to the Brexit committee. |
| Gove says the Operation Yellowhammer document, about the government’s assumption for a no-deal Brexit, was presented to a cabinet committee in the first week of August, and discussed on 2 August. | Gove says the Operation Yellowhammer document, about the government’s assumption for a no-deal Brexit, was presented to a cabinet committee in the first week of August, and discussed on 2 August. |
| But he says that it was produced over a series of months. | But he says that it was produced over a series of months. |
| Q: Why did you describe it as old? | Q: Why did you describe it as old? |
| Gove says many of the assumptions in the report were old. They had to be tested. | Gove says many of the assumptions in the report were old. They had to be tested. |
| Q: You described it as absolutely the worst case scenario. Was that correct? | Q: You described it as absolutely the worst case scenario. Was that correct? |
| Gove says it was a reasonable worst case scenario. | Gove says it was a reasonable worst case scenario. |
| Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of no-deal planning, has just started giving evidence to the Commons Brexit committee. | Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of no-deal planning, has just started giving evidence to the Commons Brexit committee. |
| There is a live feed here. | There is a live feed here. |
| Hilary Benn, the chair, is asking the questions. | Hilary Benn, the chair, is asking the questions. |
| Q: On The Andrew Marr Show you could not say you would comply with the bill designed to stop a no-deal Brexit because you had not seen it. Now you have seen it, will you comply with it? | Q: On The Andrew Marr Show you could not say you would comply with the bill designed to stop a no-deal Brexit because you had not seen it. Now you have seen it, will you comply with it? |
| Yes, says Gove. | Yes, says Gove. |
| Gove says government will comply with the Benn bill if it becomes law. | Gove says government will comply with the Benn bill if it becomes law. |
| Jo Johnson has achieved a unique distinction; he is the only minister to have resigned twice over Brexit. | Jo Johnson has achieved a unique distinction; he is the only minister to have resigned twice over Brexit. |
| In November last year he resigned as a transport minister in Theresa May’s government because he could not support the withdrawal agreement. Other ministers who resigned at the time, like Dominic Raab, did so because they thought the agreement did not amount to a pure enough form of Brexit. Johnson agreed with them that it was an unsatisfactory compromise, but in a long statement explaining his resignation he said there should be a second referendum. He said: | In November last year he resigned as a transport minister in Theresa May’s government because he could not support the withdrawal agreement. Other ministers who resigned at the time, like Dominic Raab, did so because they thought the agreement did not amount to a pure enough form of Brexit. Johnson agreed with them that it was an unsatisfactory compromise, but in a long statement explaining his resignation he said there should be a second referendum. He said: |
| Given that the reality of Brexit has turned out to be so far from what was once promised, the democratic thing to do is to give the public the final say. This would not be about re-running the 2016 referendum, but about asking people whether they want to go ahead with Brexit now that we know the deal that is actually available to us, whether we should leave without any deal at all or whether people on balance would rather stick with the deal we already have inside the European Union. | Given that the reality of Brexit has turned out to be so far from what was once promised, the democratic thing to do is to give the public the final say. This would not be about re-running the 2016 referendum, but about asking people whether they want to go ahead with Brexit now that we know the deal that is actually available to us, whether we should leave without any deal at all or whether people on balance would rather stick with the deal we already have inside the European Union. |
| To those who say that is an affront to democracy given the 2016 result, I ask this. Is it more democratic to rely on a three-year-old vote based on what an idealised Brexit might offer, or to have a vote based on what we know it does actually entail? | To those who say that is an affront to democracy given the 2016 result, I ask this. Is it more democratic to rely on a three-year-old vote based on what an idealised Brexit might offer, or to have a vote based on what we know it does actually entail? |
| A majority of Orpington voters chose to leave the EU in 2016 and many of the close friends I have there, among them hard-working local Conservative party members, are passionately pro-Brexit. I respect their position. But I know from meetings I have had with local members that many are as dismayed as me by the course of negotiations and about the actual choice now on offer. Two-and-a-half years on, the practical Brexit options are now clear and the public should be asked to choose between the different paths facing our country: we will all have different positions on that choice, but I think many in my local party, in the Orpington constituency and around the country would welcome having the last word on the government’s Brexit proposals. | A majority of Orpington voters chose to leave the EU in 2016 and many of the close friends I have there, among them hard-working local Conservative party members, are passionately pro-Brexit. I respect their position. But I know from meetings I have had with local members that many are as dismayed as me by the course of negotiations and about the actual choice now on offer. Two-and-a-half years on, the practical Brexit options are now clear and the public should be asked to choose between the different paths facing our country: we will all have different positions on that choice, but I think many in my local party, in the Orpington constituency and around the country would welcome having the last word on the government’s Brexit proposals. |
| This is from Robin Niblett, director of the Chatham House thinktank | This is from Robin Niblett, director of the Chatham House thinktank |
| Having heard Jo Johnson speak eloquently and passionately in the recent past about the need for the UK to have a close and effective long-term relationship with the EU, this seems like a logical decision. More logical than his decision to become a minister in this government https://t.co/mEH3qlsqzV | Having heard Jo Johnson speak eloquently and passionately in the recent past about the need for the UK to have a close and effective long-term relationship with the EU, this seems like a logical decision. More logical than his decision to become a minister in this government https://t.co/mEH3qlsqzV |
| More on Jo Johnson’s resignation. (Or pending resignation - we’re still not clear when he is actually clearing his ministerial desk.) | More on Jo Johnson’s resignation. (Or pending resignation - we’re still not clear when he is actually clearing his ministerial desk.) |
| From ITV’s Robert Peston | From ITV’s Robert Peston |
| Funnily enough I said to an MP only yesterday that the looming Brexit general election would tear families apart https://t.co/dPLl3PAkc7 | Funnily enough I said to an MP only yesterday that the looming Brexit general election would tear families apart https://t.co/dPLl3PAkc7 |
| It is wholly unsurprising that @JoJohnsonUK is standing down at looming election; he told colleagues how upset he was at purging of Tory MPs like @JustineGreening and Ken Clarke, to whom he is closer politically in many ways than to his brother, especially on Brexit | It is wholly unsurprising that @JoJohnsonUK is standing down at looming election; he told colleagues how upset he was at purging of Tory MPs like @JustineGreening and Ken Clarke, to whom he is closer politically in many ways than to his brother, especially on Brexit |
| From the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg | From the BBC’s Laura Kuennsberg |
| Absolutely astonishing twist - one tory insider texts to say ‘he’s killed him’ https://t.co/fK3clhKNCz | Absolutely astonishing twist - one tory insider texts to say ‘he’s killed him’ https://t.co/fK3clhKNCz |