‘MPs will be given a chance to derail the exit deal from the European Union, the government said yesterday, but only after it is too late to stop Britain from leaving altogether. Senior sources confirmed that MPs would be asked to ratify any agreement between Britain and the other 27 member states at the end of the Brexit negotiations. They will not have the power to amend the deal, however, and if parliament chose to veto the plan, Britain would still leave the EU — but without any new trading or co-operation arrangements in place.’ – The Times (£)
>Yesterday: Christopher Howarth’s Guide to Brexit: Why we have to leave the Single Market and the Customs Union
‘After three days of argument in the High Court, a panel of Britain’s most senior judges retired on Tuesday to consider the merits of a challenge that could derail the government’s plans for Brexit. The case, which has emerged as a major constitutional test, has generated huge public interest, with full galleries and a televised feed to overflow courts for those who could not fit into the neo-gothic splendour of court four, the largest of the courts in the Royal Courts of Justice. Outside on Tuesday one group waved the EU’s blue and gold flag while a Brexit supporter held up a placard reading: “Bad Losers”.’ – FT
>Today: Profile: Keir Starmer, leading for Labour on Brexit. A first-class lawyer – but can he be a first-class politician?
‘Philip Hammond has told Theresa May that he will continue to make clear the “economic realities” of Brexit and will not quit the Cabinet. The Chancellor has told Mrs May directly that he will not stand down after Cabinet colleagues accused him of “undermining Brexit”. He will today defend his role as Chancellor in warning of the potential risks of Brexit during an appearance before MPs on the Treasury select committee. An ally of Mr Hammond told The Daily Telegraph he has made it “absolutely clear” to Mrs May that he will not stand down as Chancellor. The source said that he believes he is the “right man for difficult times”‘ – Daily Telegraph
>Yesterday: ToryDiary: Sympathy for Hammond
‘Even if striking our own deals was not narrowly legal under the treaties, the UK is withdrawing from them, and repealing the European Communities Act 1972, which is the mechanism by which they have legal effect in the UK. Once we have done that, whether we abide by the treaties in every detail is a matter of politeness and realpolitik, not law. Why would we want to accept the principle that we should have no post-Brexit trade deals? It should be obvious that this is unacceptable and we shall not accept it. Indeed, the 27 member states who will remain in the EU after we leave rightly expect that the UK will not use its current, notional voting rights to interfere with EU plans that will come into effect only after the UK leaves the EU…The obvious pragmatic quid pro quo is that the EU cannot expect to stop the UK doing our deals for after we leave.’ – Andrew Lilico, Daily Telegraph
‘Theresa May cleared the path for a third runway at Heathrow yesterday but was accused of delaying the move until 2018. MPs will not get a final vote on airport expansion for more than a year, the prime minister said, to allow time for further debate. She gave ministers freedom to speak out against expansion in a concession to Boris Johnson. The foreign secretary previously pledged to lie down in front of bulldozers to stop a third runway, but indicated at the weekend that he would not resign over the issue.’ – The Times (£)
‘Five million pensioners have been robbed of the chance to cash in their rip-off annuities. They had been promised the right to swap them for a lump sum under George Osborne’s pension reforms. But Treasury officials announced last night that the plans had been scrapped. The U-turn is a huge blow to older savers who were forced to convert their retirement savings into annuities. They can no longer hope to escape the often poor-value deals. Ministers say they acted to stop pensioners being exploited…But campaigners accused the Government of breaking its promises and leaving millions in the lurch.’ – Daily Mail
‘Concerns over the age of child refugees from Calais intensified yesterday, as a second group arrived in London. One migrant in particular, wearing a blue hoodie with stubble on his chin, was rated by a facial recognition program as having the features of a 38-year-old. He was one of 14 to be bussed to Croydon from the notorious Jungle…Last night Tory MP David Davies said: ‘This is just a joke. Some of these people are clearly not children, they’re not even young men. This one has got lines around his eyes, lines on his face and what appears to be flecks of grey in his hair.” – Daily Mail
‘Theresa May’s top aides knew her child abuse inquiry was in chaos four months before the judge heading it quit, MPs were told yesterday. The revelation — in evidence to a Commons committee — dragged the PM into the growing row over the New Zealander who lasted just 18 months in the job. It follows allegations the judge, Dame Lowell Goddard, said Britain had so many paedos because of “so many Asian men”. Senior figures on the mammoth inquiry into historic child abuse across public institutions told MPs they raised concerns about her leadership in April.’ – The Sun (£)
‘Less money will be spent on each NHS patient for the first time in recent history, the head of the health service said yesterday as he warned that he did not have enough cash. Simon Stevens, chief executive of NHS England, said that there was a “big hill to climb” to keep up standards, as he continued to distance himself from government boasts about the NHS budget. In a rebuke to Theresa May’s claim that she was giving the NHS more than it had asked for, Mr Stevens said that the service would actually get less than requested for the next three years and pointed out that spending per patient would be cut for 2018-19.’ – The Times (£)
>Today: Kevin Shinkwin on Comment: Hunt may ignore and patronise me. But nothing will stop me speaking out about discrimination against disabled people.
‘The Commons international development committee says it is right to give aid to poor countries even when corruption is ‘endemic’ – and warns that trying to solve the problem could be counter-productive. The Labour-led committee suggests rooting out corruption may cause instability in ‘fragile’ states, and that tackling corruption is sometimes ‘not the best focus’. Aid Secretary Priti Patel last night rejected the MPs’ advice, saying: ‘Even when working in some of the most challenging environments, we won’t hesitate to challenge waste and corruption. That is our responsibility to UK taxpayers.’’ – Daily Mail
‘Wallasey MP Angela Eagle was subject to homophobic abuse and targeted because she challenged leader Jeremy Corbyn – according to Labour party chiefs. A confidential report leaked to the ECHO details a Labour party investigation into allegations of abuse and intimidation at the Wallasey Constituency Labour Party (CLP). Although the claims have always been strongly denied by some party members, the report calls for the local party to remain suspended until next year. The report comes against a background of claims of a “militant”-style takeover of the Wallasey Labour Party by hard left activists.’ – Liverpool Echo
‘Arron Banks, a key donor to Ukip, said yesterday that the party had descended into “full-blown insanity” and warned that he may never give it money again. The insurance tycoon said he was sitting on the fence and waiting to see who would become the party’s new leader before deciding whether to leave. Since October 2014 Mr Banks and Rock Services, of which he is a director, have donated more than £1.25 million.’ – The Times (£)
>Today: Chris Stevens on Local Government: Working alongside Conservatives in the referendum campaign convinced me I should join them
>Yesterday:
‘Thrashing Isis in Mosul would of course be a prize worth winning. It would dent the group’s standing among angry young Muslims, reduce its cash flow, take away its last major urban bastion in Iraq. If the Iraqi army really do win, it will help erase the memory of the shameful mass desertion in 2014. Some of the weapons they left behind are now being used against them…The armed front against Isis has brute, aggregate strength but is brittle. That will become clear as the battle of Mosul wears on…All Isis has to do is wait for this coalition to fall apart, and do what it can to encourage tension between ungainly allies.’ – Roger Boyes, The Times (£)
>Today: ToryDiary: Syria’s agony, Putin’s boldness, America’s weakness