Brexit: PM to tell EU leaders to renegotiate deal - BBC News

Boris Johnson will tell EU leaders there needs to be a new Brexit deal when he makes his first trip abroad as PM later this week.

The UK will leave the EU on 31 October with or without a deal, he will insist.

Meanwhile, the Sunday Times has printed leaked government documents warning of food, medicine and fuel shortages in a no-deal scenario.

A No 10 source told the BBC a former minister leaked the dossier to try to influence discussions with EU leaders.

The documents say the cross-government paper on preparations for a no-deal Brexit, codenamed Operation Yellowhammer, reveals the UK could face months of disruption at its ports.

It also states plans to avoid a hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland are unlikely to prove sustainable.

The dossier, reported by the Sunday Times, says leaving the EU without a deal could lead to:

• Fresh food becoming less available and prices rising
• A hard Irish border after plans to avoid checks fail, sparking protests
• Fuel becoming less available and 2,000 jobs being lost if the government sets petrol import tariffs to 0%, potentially causing two oil refineries to close
• UK patients having to wait longer for medicines, including insulin and flu vaccines
• A rise in public disorder and community tensions resulting from a shortage of food and drugs
• Passengers being delayed at EU airports, Eurotunnel and Dover
• Freight disruption at ports lasting up to three months, caused by customs checks, before traffic flow improves to 50-70% of the current rate

The Downing Street source told the BBC the leaked document "is from when ministers were blocking what needed to be done to get ready to leave and the funds were not available".

Michael Gove, who is responsible for overseeing the devolution consequences of Brexit, said in a tweet that Operation Yellowhammer was "a worst case scenario".

"V significant steps have been taken in the last 3 weeks to accelerate Brexit planning," he added.

Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng told Sky News' Sophy Ridge on Sunday: "I think there's a lot of scaremongering around and a lot of people are playing into project fear."

'Completely insane'

But a former head of the British civil service, Lord Bob Kerslake, who described the document as "credible", said the dossier "lays bare the scale of the risks we are facing with no-deal Brexit in almost every area".

"These risks are completely insane for this country to be taking and we have to explore every avenue to avoid them," he told BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House.

Irish deputy prime minister Simon Coveney said, in a tweet, that Ireland had "always been clear" a hard border in Ireland "must be avoided".

The Irish backstop - the provision in Theresa May's withdrawal agreement that could see Northern Ireland continue to follow some of the same trade rules as the Republic of Ireland and the rest of the EU, thus preventing a hard border - was an "insurance policy" designed to protect the peace process, he said.

• What is the Irish border backstop?

Liberal Democrat MP Tom Brake said the leaked documents showed the effects of a no-deal Brexit should be taken more seriously.

"The government have simply, I think, pretended that this wasn't an issue," he said

The government was in "a real pickle", since the "the US has said that if that border is jeopardised, we're not going to get a trade deal with them", he said.

Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi said, on Wednesday, a US-UK trade deal would not get through Congress if Brexit undermined the Good Friday Agreement.

G7 summit

The leak comes as the prime minister prepares to travel to Berlin to meet German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Wednesday, before going to Paris to meet French President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday.

Mr Johnson is expected to say Parliament cannot and will not change the outcome of the 2016 referendum and insist there must be a new deal to replace Mrs May's withdrawal agreement - defeated three times by MPs - if the UK is to leave the EU with a deal.

However, it is thought their discussions will chiefly focus on issues such as foreign policy, security, trade and the environment, ahead of the G7 summit next weekend.

Boris Johnson had been reluctant to fly to meet European leaders until it seemed a breakthrough was likely.

But - it still doesn't.

When Mr Johnson meets the EU's most powerful leaders - Angela Merkel and Emmanuel Macron - he will repeat his message that the UK is leaving, no matter what, at the end of October.

He will tell them face-to-face for the first time that the only way the UK will sign up to a deal is if the EU thinks again, and replaces the agreement brokered by Mrs May.

But there seems to be little chance of any serious progress in the coming days.

No 10 does not seem particularly optimistic and says it expects both sides will say their piece, then move on to other issues.

Anti-Brexit campaigner Gina Miller said the Government had "unequivocally" accepted it could not shut down Parliament to clear the way for a no-deal Brexit.

• Could the government shut down Parliament?

She told Sky's Sophy Ridge On Sunday: "What they have said is, unequivocally, they accept that to close down Parliament, to bypass them in terms of Brexit - stopping a no-deal Brexit, in particular - is illegal."

But Ms Miller said she would continue to seek further reassurances that MPs would be able to pass legislation to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Meanwhile, a cross-party group of more than 100 MPs has urged the prime minister to recall Parliament and let it sit permanently until the UK leaves the EU.

In a letter, MPs say the country is "on the brink of an economic crisis".

It continues: "Parliament must be recalled now in August and sit permanently until 31 October, so that the voices of the people can be heard, and that there can be proper scrutiny of your government."

• Do MPs have the power to stop a no-deal Brexit?

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn has reiterated his call for MPs to work together to stop a no-deal Brexit.

Speaking to the Observer, Mr Corbyn said his plan to be installed as an interim prime minister was the "simplest and most democratic way to stop no deal".

The Labour leader has said, as a caretaker PM, he would delay Brexit, call a snap election, and campaign for another referendum.

But Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said Mr Corbyn was "divisive" and instead suggested Conservative MP Ken Clarke or former Labour leader Harriet Harman could head a temporary government.

Elsewhere, in a letter seen by the Mail on Sunday, Mr Johnson warned rebel Tory MPs their opposition to a no-deal Brexit was damaging the prospect of getting a new deal.

He said it was "plain as a pikestaff" that the EU will "not compromise as long as they believe there is the faintest possibility that Parliament can block Brexit on 31 October".

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2019-08-18 07:04:23Z
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Downing Street slams 'dishonest' Tory rebels - Telegraph.co.uk

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1. Downing Street slams 'dishonest' Tory rebels  Telegraph.co.uk
2. Parliament cannot stop Brexit, Johnson to tell Macron and Merkel  Reuters
3. What’s More Unpopular: No-Deal Brexit or Prime Minister Corbyn?  Slate
4. Germans are the 'biggest victim' of Brexit – But UK leaving EU gives Macron 'more power'  Express.co.uk
5. Boris Johnson told to release secret no-deal Breixit doomsday memo  INSIDER
6. View full coverage on Google News

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/08/17/downing-street-slams-dishonest-tory-rebels/

2019-08-17 20:30:00Z
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Folk Singer Wants to Reverse Britain's Last Imperial Conquest—a Rock - The Wall Street Journal

By

Alistair MacDonald

Alistair MacDonald
The Wall Street Journal
• Biography
• @macdonaldajm
• Alistair.Macdonald@wsj.com

Aug. 16, 2019 12:39 pm ET

Rockall, an uninhabited rock in the Atlantic, is the subject of a song. Photo: Alamy

DERRYBEG, Ireland— Brian Warfield has promised to reverse Britain’s last act of imperial expansion, and claim the Atlantic island of Rockall for Ireland.

Rockall is an 80-foot wide, uninhabitable rock, battered by 50-foot waves. The nearest habitable land, Scotland, is around 230 miles away. Mr. Warfield is a 73-year-old Irish folk musician without a boat.

Tensions between Britain and Ireland are rising over the prospect of a no-deal Brexit. Fans of Mr. Warfield’s band, the Wolfe Tones, want him to make good on the pledge.

Philip Casey, 62, first read about Mr. Warfield’s promise in a newspaper.

“I thought, good on him,” he said, as he waited for the Wolfe Tones to hit the stage.

The U.K. annexed Rockall in 1955, in what London newspapers dubbed the last act of the Empire, to stop the Soviet Union using it to spy on British missile tests.

Though it doesn’t claim the rock as Irish, Dublin has never recognized British sovereignty, saying nobody should own the remote island. Nor has Mr. Warfield and his band, the Wolfe Tones, who first took up the cause in 1976 with the satirical song “Rock on Rockall.”

This June, as the Scottish government ordered Irish boats to stop fishing the squid-rich waters around Rockall, Mr. Warfield told a newspaper: “We’d be prepared to go up there in a trawler ourselves and claim the rock back for Ireland.”

Then the band went on a tour of the U.S. and Mr. Warfield mainly forgot about his promise.

Tommy Byrne and Brian Warfield looked over a song list in Derrybeg, Ireland. Photo: Alistair Macdonald/The Wall Street Journal

Back in his native Ireland, he is discovering that not everybody else has.

“You shouldn’t say you are going to do something, unless you are going to do it,” said Anne Cassidy, who had come to watch the band play in Derrybeg, a village in the northwest coast of Ireland.

But there is the question of finance and logistics, Mr. Warfield said, from his hotel ahead of the show.

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The logistics would require the aging musicians to brave gales and rough seas in a journey that could take up to 30 hours from an Irish port.

“It’s essentially just a big rock in the middle of nowhere, covered in bird excrement,” said Englishman Nick Hancock, who spent a record 45 days on Rockall in 2014.

Aside from the waves, the band will have to conquer huge swells at the base of the rock that make it difficult to get close, warns Tom McClean, a Brit who spent 40 days there in the 1980s.

With no place to land, visitors have to swim or leap onto the rock from a boat. Once on, the Wolfe Tones would need to climb 50 feet up the rock to plant the Irish flag. Mr. Hancock is an experienced rock climber and plays rugby. Mr. McClean is a former member of Britain’s elite Special Air Service group.

Englishman Nick Hancock spent a record 45 days on Rockall in 2014. Photo: Getty Images

The Wolfe Tones play golf.

“How can the Wolfe Tones do it? We are just a band,” Tommy Byrne, the 75-year-old guitarist, asked Mr. Warfield, as they settled into comfy chairs and pints of beer. “I’m not saying that I am not up for it, but 40-foot waves?” he said.

Noel Nagle, the band’s 75-year-old whistle player, wasn’t surprised to hear of Mr. Warfield’s promise on his and Mr. Byrne’s behalf.

“I’ve known him for over 50 years, I know what he’s like,” he said. “He’s gung ho.”

Mr. Warfield, who is currently writing a musical about Ireland’s Great Famine, is feeling positive. He posits a drone to get the flag onto Rockall. Mr. Byrne suggests a helicopter.

Calls for the Wolfe Tones to live up to their promise, and the band’s reaction to those demands, come with humor. The episode has also reminded the band members of their own mortality.

Having talked about the trip to Rockall since the 70s, the “Wolfers” know the trip gets harder every year. Meanwhile, the band’s retirement no longer seems distant after 50 years plus of touring.

Politics is forcing the issue. Though Scotland can already claim exclusive fishing rights in the 12 miles off Rockall, champions of Brexit made control of British waters a high-profile issue.

“Rockall is very much British…the Irish will fish the squid and fish there to extinction,” said Mike Park, who used to fish haddock there and is now chief executive of the Scottish White Fish Producers Association Limited.

Brian Warfield, Tommy Byrne and Noel Nagle of the band The Wolfe Tones perform during a cultural festival in 2013. Photo: Jaroslav Ozana/CTK/ZUMA PRESS

In recent decades, the U.K. and Ireland have enjoyed a mainly harmonious relationship. But the sticking point in Britain’s attempts to strike an EU exit deal has been treatment of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, raising hackles on both sides.

The Wolfe Tones are sometimes called anti-British, with songs such as the “Rifles of the I.R.A,” about the Irish Republican Army, which was responsible for a string of bombings in the U.K. The band, which began in England, says songs about past injustices don’t imply dislike for Britain as a whole or as it is now.

As the Derrybeg gig approached, the Wolfe Tones concluded that Rockall was worth pursuing.

“With a no-deal Brexit, the Brits will only end up making it even harder for Irish fisherman,” Mr. Nagle said, getting up to leave, but struggling to rise from his seat.

“And you want to go to Rockall?” Mr. Byrne said, putting down his beer.

The group opened to a raucous welcome from a crowd bedecked in the Irish flag. But the night’s loudest cheer went to “Rock on Rockall.”

“Oh the Empire it is finished, no foreign lands to seize, so the greedy eye of England is stirring towards the seas,” Mr. Warfield sang.

“Who’s got a boat to bring the Wolfers out to Rockall?” he shouted

Hands shot up, including Oran Gallagher, standing at the front of the stage.

“No matter the waves, I’ll take him,” the 20-year old said later.

Another boat was also offered that night, according to Mr. Warfield.

Even one-time Rockall residents Mr. McClean and Mr. Hancock believe that, with great determination, the Wolfers can maybe do it. Now in his 80s, Mr. McClean doesn’t rule out a Rockall return himself. His website describes his vessel as “the world’s only giant whale-shaped boat.”

Mr. Hancock remembers moments of great beauty on Rockall, with real whales blowing water and gannets divebombing into the ocean for food.

But, “when the weather is bad, you really don’t want to be there,” he said.

Write to Alistair MacDonald at alistair.macdonald@wsj.com

Copyright ©2019 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved. 87990cbe856818d5eddac44c7b1cdeb8

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2019-08-16 16:39:00Z
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Brexit: No chance of US trade deal if Irish accord hit - Pelosi - BBC News

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A US-UK trade deal will not get through Congress if Brexit undermines the Good Friday Agreement, the Speaker of the US House of Representatives has said.

Democrat Nancy Pelosi, whose party controls the House, said the UK's exit from the EU could not be allowed to endanger the Irish peace deal.

Her comments came after the US national security adviser said the UK would be "first in line" for a trade deal.

John Bolton spoke after meeting Prime Minister Boris Johnson in London.

• UK 'first in line' for US trade deal, says Bolton
• Who is John Bolton?

The reimposition of frontier controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland if the UK leaves the EU without mutual agreement on 31 October - a so-called "hard Brexit" - is seen as a threat to the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, which ended decades of bloodshed in Northern Ireland.

"Whatever form it takes, Brexit cannot be allowed to imperil the Good Friday Agreement, including the seamless border between the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland," Ms Pelosi said in a statement on Wednesday.

'Tough old haggle'

Mr Bolton said on Tuesday that the Trump administration supported a no-deal Brexit, and added Washington would propose an accelerated series of trade deals in the event of one.

He said these could be done on a "sector-by-sector" basis, with an agreement on manufacturing made first. A trade deal for financial services and agriculture would not be the first to be agreed, he added.

• What trade deals has the UK done so far?
• Could US companies run NHS services after Brexit?

Asked whether his proposed plan would follow World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, Mr Bolton said "our trade negotiators seem to think it is".

He said there would be enthusiastic bipartisan support in Congress for speedy ratification at each stage.

Mr Johnson said there were "all sorts" of opportunities for UK business in the US, particularly service companies, but the negotiations will be a "tough old haggle".

However, critics warn that the UK will have to give in to some US demands in return for any trade agreement.

Former UK Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, who served under a Labour government, described Mr Bolton as "dangerously bellicose".

He suggested the UK would have to agree to some US demands, for example allowing imports of US chlorine-washed chicken.

"This is a highly transactional administration… you don't get something for nothing," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Lewis Lukens, a former deputy chief of mission at the US embassy in London and former acting US ambassador, said Mr Bolton was aligned to President Trump's "America first agenda" and would be making "strong demands" on the UK to back the US position on issues like China, Iran and Chinese tech giant Huawei.

Mr Johnson is expected to have his first face-to-face meeting as prime minister with Mr Trump later this month at the G7 summit in France.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-49348062

2019-08-14 14:38:19Z
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Pelosi vows no UK free-trade deal if Brexit undermines Good Friday accord | TheHill - The Hill

Speaker Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiThe Hill's Morning Report - Trump moves green cards, citizenship away from poor, low-skilled Democrats want McGahn testimony, Mueller grand jury cases decided by same judge The Hill's Morning Report - More talk on guns; many questions on Epstein's death MORE (D-Calif.) on Wednesday reiterated her opposition to a free trade deal with the United Kingdom if its withdrawal from the European Union harms Irish peace.

“The Good Friday Agreement serves as the bedrock of peace in Northern Ireland and as a beacon of hope for the entire world.  After centuries of conflict and bloodshed, the world has witnessed a miracle of reconciliation and progress made possible because of this transformative accord," she said in a statement.

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“If Brexit undermines the Good Friday accord, there will be no chance of a U.S.-U.K. trade agreement passing the Congress. The peace of the Good Friday Agreement is treasured by the American people and will be fiercely defended on a bicameral and bipartisan basis in the United States Congress.”

The 1998 Good Friday Agreement ended the Northern Ireland conflict, which broke out in the 1960s.

Dealing with Northern Ireland has been a central issue for Brexit negotiators.

Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., shares a border with Ireland, which is part of the EU.

Critics of Brexit have raised concerns that a deal might require imposing a hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, upsetting the agreement that has maintained peace for over two decades.

Pelosi's remarks come after national security adviser John BoltonJohn Robert BoltonBolton: US would 'enthusiastically' support no-deal Brexit for UK The Hill's Morning Report - More talk on guns; many questions on Epstein's death Bolton to press UK on stronger response to Iran, Huawei: report MORE said that the U.S. would support a "no deal" Brexit, which would likely trigger the hard border. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck GrassleyCharles (Chuck) Ernest GrassleyHere's how senators can overcome their hyperpartisanship with judicial nominees FBI briefs lawmakers on Texas, Ohio mass shootings Senate Dems urge Mnuchin not to cut capital gains taxes MORE (R-Iowa) also recently said he would support a no-deal exit.

Any new trade deal to substitute the U.S.-U.K. agreements negotiated through the EU would have to be brought to a vote in Congress, meaning the Speaker could block it.

The California lawmaker had originally voiced her opposition to a no deal Brexit to Irish Parliament in April.

Since then, British Prime Minister Theresa MayTheresa Mary MayTrump tells UK's Boris Johnson he hopes they meet 'in the near future' Bolton to press UK on stronger response to Iran, Huawei: report UK economy shrinks for first time since 2012 MORE has been replaced by Boris Johnson, an ardent Brexit supporter.

The former London mayor has promised to leave the European Union by Oct. 31, but faces several roadblocks in negotiations. 

— This report was updated at 9:13 a.m.

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2019-08-14 13:11:10Z
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Kameel Ahmady: British-Iranian academic 'arrested in Iran' - BBC News

A British-Iranian dual national has been arrested in western Iran, according to his family.

The wife of Kameel Ahmady, a social anthropologist, said he was taken into custody on Sunday from their home without a reason being given.

Mr Ahmady has researched female genital mutilation and child marriage in Iran, among other subjects.

Another British dual national, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe, has been in Iranian custody since 2016 over spying claims.

Earlier this year, the UK foreign office advised all dual nationals against all travel to Iran because of the risk of arbitrary detention.

The new alleged arrest comes as high tensions, caused by oil tankers seizures, continue between the two countries.

Professional websites in Mr Ahmady's name identify him as "British-Iranian originally from Kurdistan". His LinkedIn profile says he studied at a number of UK universities, including the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE).

A spokesman for the Kurdistan Human Rights Network, who reported his arrest, said Mr Ahmady has lived in Iran for many years.

Officials in both countries are yet to confirm he has been taken into custody.

In an interview with BBC Persian, his wife Shafaq Rahmani alleged security agents came to the couple's house and "took away documents, including his ID card".

She said a local judicial official later confirmed a one-month temporary detention order had been issued against Mr Ahmady.

"They have not provided any information about the reason for the arrest or the charges against Kameel," Ms Rahmani wrote on Instagram.

Iran does not recognise dual nationality and there are no exact figures on the number of detainees who are also foreign nationals.

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https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49341885

2019-08-14 11:06:07Z
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No-deal Brexit will be stopped, former finance minister Hammond says - Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Parliament will block a no-deal Brexit if unelected people behind Prime Minister Boris Johnson try to wrench Britain out of the European Union on Oct. 31 without agreement, former finance minister Philip Hammond said on Wednesday.

FILE PHOTO: Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Hammond leaves the BBC studios in London, Britain, July 21, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls/File Photo

The United Kingdom is heading towards a constitutional crisis at home and a showdown with the EU as Johnson has vowed to leave the bloc in 78 days time without a deal unless it agrees to renegotiate a Brexit divorce.

After more than three years of Brexit dominating EU affairs, the bloc has repeatedly refused to reopen the Withdrawal Agreement which includes an Irish border insurance policy that Johnson’s predecessor, Theresa May, agreed in November.

Hammond, who served as May’s finance minister for three years, said unelected people in Johnson’s Downing Street office were setting London on an “inevitable” course towards a no-deal Brexit by demanding the backstop be dropped.

“The people behind this know that that means that there will be no deal,” Hammond told the BBC. “Parliament is clearly opposed to a no-deal exit, and the prime minister must respect that.”

The former minister’s first public intervention since resigning indicates the determination of a group of influential lawmakers to thwart Johnson if he goes for a no-deal Brexit.

Hammond said he was confident parliament, where a majority oppose a no-deal Brexit, would find a way to block that outcome.

It is, however, unclear if lawmakers have the unity or power to use the 800-year-old heart of British democracy to prevent a no-deal Brexit on Oct. 31 - likely to be the United Kingdom’s most consequential move since World War Two.

Opponents of no deal say it would be a disaster for what was once one of the West’s most stable democracies. A disorderly divorce, they say, would hurt global growth, send shockwaves through financial markets and weaken London’s claim to be the world’s preeminent financial centre.

Brexit supporters say there may be short-term disruption from a no-deal exit but that the economy will thrive if cut free from what they cast as a doomed experiment in integration that has led to Europe falling behind China and the United States.

CONSTITUTIONAL CRISIS

Heading towards one of the biggest constitutional crises in at least a century, Britain’s elite are quarrelling over how, when and even if the result of the shock 2016 referendum will be implemented.

Part of the problem is that Britain’s constitution, once touted as a global model, is uncodified and vague. It relies on precedent, but there is little for Brexit.

The House of Commons speaker John Bercow told an audience in Scotland that lawmakers could prevent a no-deal Brexit and that he would fight any attempt to prorogue, or suspend, parliament “with every bone in my body”.

“We cannot have a situation in which parliament is shut down – we are a democratic society,” the Telegraph quoted Bercow as saying at an event on the sidelines of the Edinburgh Festival.

“And parliament will be heard and nobody is going to get away, as far as I am concerned, with stopping that happening,” added the 56-year-old who says he voted “Remain” in the 2016 Brexit referendum.

Johnson, who replaced May after she failed three times to get her Brexit deal through parliament, has refused to rule out proroguing the House of Commons and Brexit supporters have vociferously encouraged him to do so if necessary.

Hammond said the Leave campaign in the 2016 referendum did not tout no deal as a likely option, so to leave under those conditions would be a betrayal of the referendum that would reduce the nation to an “inward-looking little England”.

The United Kingdom, he said, would be under threat with referendums likely on Scottish independence and a united Ireland.

FILE PHOTO: Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow announces the results of a round of voting on alternative Brexit options at the House of Commons in London, Britain April 1, 2019 in this still image taken from video. Reuters TV via REUTERS

Johnson’s top advisor, Dominic Cummings, has reportedly said he could delay calling a general election until after Oct. 31, even if he lost a no confidence motion, allowing for a no-deal Brexit while parliament is dissolved.

Clearly with him in mind, Hammond said there were people “who are pulling the strings in Downing Street, those who are setting the strategy.”

Cummings declined to comment to Reuters.

Writing by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Cawthorne

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-08-14 07:54:00Z
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