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| Brexit: DUP denies softening position on Irish backstop – live news | Brexit: DUP denies softening position on Irish backstop – live news |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Sammy Wilson MP, the DUP’s Brexit spokesman, has also dismissed that Times report, which claimed his party has softened its red lines on a Northern Ireland-only backstop. | |
| Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, he said it was “completely untrue”. | |
| According to the Larne Times, Wilson earlier told the BBC: | |
| We will not be accepting separate arrangements for Northern Ireland that cut us off from the United Kingdom. The only different arrangements we will accept for Northern Ireland are those where the assembly has total scrutiny of any EU legislation it decides are in the interest of Northern Ireland and doesn’t damage our relationship with the UK. | |
| And in those situations we will consider adopting appropriate legislation if we believe it is to the advantage of industry in Northern Ireland. | |
| Boris Johnson continues his unofficial election campaign with another trip to Labour’s northern heartlands today. | Boris Johnson continues his unofficial election campaign with another trip to Labour’s northern heartlands today. |
| In a speech in Rotherham to the Convention of the North, he is expected to promise northern communities “control over the things that matter to them,” and a new Northern Powerhouse growth body to drive the region’s economy. | In a speech in Rotherham to the Convention of the North, he is expected to promise northern communities “control over the things that matter to them,” and a new Northern Powerhouse growth body to drive the region’s economy. |
| The speech is due to start at 12.30pm, and will take questions from journalists afterwards, according to Politico’s London Playbook. | The speech is due to start at 12.30pm, and will take questions from journalists afterwards, according to Politico’s London Playbook. |
| Meanwhile, politicians from northern England who will gather at the convention have made a joint call for more help for the region. Mayors and city leaders from Liverpool, Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds and Sheffield, along with business leaders, have set out their priorities for the north in a joint article in the Times. It said: | |
| “To get this country working again, there is an urgent need to take power out of Westminster and give it to our great cities and regions. | “To get this country working again, there is an urgent need to take power out of Westminster and give it to our great cities and regions. |
| “We need to build a new, healthier politics that unifies people around place and positive change and delivers practical change for citizens. | “We need to build a new, healthier politics that unifies people around place and positive change and delivers practical change for citizens. |
| “The crisis over Brexit makes this a make or break moment for northern devolution. ‘Take Back Control’ may have been directed at Brussels during the referendum campaign but the reality is that many people were also sending the same message to Westminster. | |
| “Whilst central government has been stuck in the Brexit mire, we have used devolution to deliver for our local communities on the things that matter to them. So today we are making a new joint call on the government for action in five priority areas.” | “Whilst central government has been stuck in the Brexit mire, we have used devolution to deliver for our local communities on the things that matter to them. So today we are making a new joint call on the government for action in five priority areas.” |
| Welcome to another special Friday edition of Politics Live. | Welcome to another special Friday edition of Politics Live. |
| Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, has played down a report that her party is softening its opposition to a Northern Ireland-only backstop to help Boris Johnson get a new Brexit deal. | Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, has played down a report that her party is softening its opposition to a Northern Ireland-only backstop to help Boris Johnson get a new Brexit deal. |
| The Times claimed the DUP has agreed to shift its red lines on Brexit, saying it could accept Northern Ireland abiding by some European Union rules post-Brexit as part of a new deal to replace the Irish backstop. | The Times claimed the DUP has agreed to shift its red lines on Brexit, saying it could accept Northern Ireland abiding by some European Union rules post-Brexit as part of a new deal to replace the Irish backstop. |
| Friday’s front page: - DUP opens door to new Brexit deal for Johnson - New FGM law is racially motivated, Holyrood told #scotpapers #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/c1iNdlMWB2 | Friday’s front page: - DUP opens door to new Brexit deal for Johnson - New FGM law is racially motivated, Holyrood told #scotpapers #tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/c1iNdlMWB2 |
| It reported that the DUP had privately said it would drop its objection to regulatory checks in the Irish Sea, something it had previously said was unacceptable since it would separate Northern Ireland politically and economically from the mainland. | It reported that the DUP had privately said it would drop its objection to regulatory checks in the Irish Sea, something it had previously said was unacceptable since it would separate Northern Ireland politically and economically from the mainland. |
| In return for such concessions, Brussels would abandon its insistence on Northern Ireland remaining in a customs union with the EU, sources told the paper. | |
| But, the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, insists that, as previously indicated, any moves which did make Northern Ireland different to the rest of the UK would be unacceptable to the party. | |
| In a strongly worded tweet, she suggested the story was “nonsense”. | |
| She said: | She said: |
| “UK must leave as one nation. We are keen to see a sensible deal but not one that divides the internal market of the UK. We will not support any arrangements that create a barrier to East West trade. Anonymous sources lead to nonsense stories.” | “UK must leave as one nation. We are keen to see a sensible deal but not one that divides the internal market of the UK. We will not support any arrangements that create a barrier to East West trade. Anonymous sources lead to nonsense stories.” |
| UK must leave as one nation. We are keen to see a sensible deal but not one that divides the internal market of the UK. We will not support any arrangements that create a barrier to East West trade. Anonymous sources lead to nonsense stories. #frontpages | UK must leave as one nation. We are keen to see a sensible deal but not one that divides the internal market of the UK. We will not support any arrangements that create a barrier to East West trade. Anonymous sources lead to nonsense stories. #frontpages |
| Meanwhile, the prime minister has been warned against breaking the law over Brexit by the Speaker John Bercow, who said parliament would use “procedural creativity” to prevent no-deal exit. | |
| And the EU’s chief negotiator said there was “no reason to be optimistic” that a new agreement can be brokered before the 31 October deadline. | |
| Michel Barnier told political leaders in the European parliament on Thursday that he was unable to say whether contacts with the UK government would result in a deal by mid-October. |