Collapse us if you can, British government dares Brexit opponents - Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s government on Thursday challenged opponents of Brexit in parliament to collapse the government or change the law if they wanted to thwart Britain’s exit from the European Union.

A pro-Brexit supporter carries a banner during an anti-Brexit protest, outside the Houses of Parliament in London, Britain August 28, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Nicholls

More than three years since the Brexit referendum, the United Kingdom is heading toward its gravest constitutional crisis in decades and a showdown with the EU over Brexit due in just 63 days time.

In his boldest step since becoming prime minister last month, Johnson enraged opponents of a no-deal Brexit on Wednesday by ordering the suspension of parliament for almost a month.

The speaker of the lower house of parliament, John Bercow, said that was a constitutional outrage as it limited the time the 800-year-old heart of English democracy has to debate and shape the course of British history.

But Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Brexit supporter who is in charge of managing government business in parliament, dared opponents to do their worst.

“All these people who are wailing and gnashing of teeth know that there are two ways of doing what they want to do,” Rees-Mogg told the BBC.

“One, is to change the government and the other is to change the law. If they do either of those that will then have an effect.

“If they don’t have either the courage or the gumption to do either of those then we will leave on the 31st of October in accordance with the referendum result.”

Johnson’s move to suspend parliament for longer than usual at one of the most crucial junctures in recent British history was cheered by U.S. President Donald Trump but provoked criticism from some British lawmakers and media.

“Boris Johnson’s suspension of parliament is an affront to democracy,” The Financial Times said in an editorial.

TORTUOUS NEGOTIATIONS

After years of tortuous negotiations and a series of political crises since the United Kingdom voted 52% to 48% to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum, Brexit remains up in the air. Options range from an acrimonious divorce on Oct. 31 and an election to an amicable exit or even another referendum.

In effect, Johnson’s order to suspend parliament forces opponents of a no-deal Brexit in parliament to show their hand and act in as few as four days sitting next month. Parliament returns from its summer holiday on Sept. 3.

An election is likely.

“Boris is obviously preparing for an election,” said Conservative lawmaker Ken Clarke.

“He’s decided that he wants a people versus foreigners election, and a people versus parliament election, and he’s blustering away with ‘making this country the greatest country in the world’, patriotism, Donald Trump-style stuff.”

Johnson is also trying to convince the EU that his threat of a no-deal exit is real.

Britain’s opposition Labour Party will seek an emergency debate on Brexit next week, the party’s trade spokesman Barry Gardiner said, outlining plans which could give them an opening to pass legislation to block a no-deal Brexit.

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“On Monday, we will introduce what is known as a Standing Order Section 24 Motion and that would be to try and have an emergency debate,” Gardiner told Sky News.

There is a small majority against a no-deal Brexit in the 650-seat House of Commons though it is unclear if opponents of Johnson within the Conservative Party would collapse his government in a vote of no confidence.

Editing by Janet Lawrence

Our Standards:The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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2019-08-29 06:36:00Z
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Boris Johnson asks Queen to suspend UK Parliament ahead of Brexit: Live updates - CNN International

Boris Johnson's decision has sparked outrage because it makes a no-deal Brexit more likely. Experts have been warning that scenario would have major implications, because the UK's membership in the European Union touches on almost every aspect of the country's economy.

Here are some potential problems:

• Trade disruption

EU membership allows British businesses to trade freely across the bloc, without the need to have extra permits or pay tariffs.

If the UK crashes out without a deal, that link will be severed abruptly and businesses will face extra costs. Business lobby groups say these could be too much for some companies, which may not survive. If companies start collapsing, jobs will disappear and the economy will suffer.

• Food and medicines shortages

A no-deal Brexit would likely mean new checks at the borders, which could delay imports. For some products border delays could prove catastrophic -- fresh fruit and other foodstuffs could rot while stuck in lorry queues.

Medical supplies coming from Europe could be affected too, because of extra red tape. French drugmaker Sanofi and its Swiss rival Novartis said they would stockpile key medicines ahead of Brexit.

No-deal Brexit could cause food shortages. Photo: Anna-Rose Gassot/AFP/Getty Images

• Recession?

According to the government's own assessment published in November, leaving without a deal would result in the UK economy being 7.7% smaller 15 years after Brexit.

The damage would be even greater if net migration from the European Union substantially dropped, the government said.

• Farming problems

The UK is a major agricultural exporter and the National Farmers' Union had warned that a no-deal scenario would be devastating for the sector. Up to 65% of Britain's agriculture exports go to the EU.

• Border delays

A study by Imperial College in London found that two extra minutes spent checking each vehicle, be it at the ferry port in Dover in southern England, or the Eurotunnel terminal nearby, could translate to jams of up to 29 miles.

Read a full overview of the risks of no-deal Brexit here.

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2019-08-28 19:17:00Z
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Brexit shock as UK PM asks Queen to suspend Parliament: Live updates - CNN International

Opponents of a no-deal Brexit just got royally outflanked.

Boris Johnson’s wheeze of getting the Queen to order a five-week suspension of Parliament means his critics have much less time than they thought to prevent the UK leaving the European Union without a deal on October 31.

Before today, their preferred option was to pass a law requiring the government to seek an extension to the Brexit deadline and hold a second referendum, should negotiations with the EU fail to result in a deal.

But with Parliament due to return from its annual summer break on September 3, they now have just four days to engineer the required legislation before Johnson’s suspension takes effect.

That could force them to fall back on Plan B – a vote of no-confidence in the government. The trouble is, for that to succeed, they need Conservative lawmakers to vote against their own party, which was always going to be a tall order.

In any event, a new parliamentary session will begin on October 14 with the traditional State Opening of Parliament and Queen’s Speech, when the monarch reads out a text written by Downing Street that sets out the government’s legislative priorities. That’s typically followed by several days of parliamentary debate. And while Johnson has hitherto been happy to tear up the norms of British political life, this is a tradition that will suit him very well.

An EU Council summit is due to take place on October 17 and 18. If Johnson returns from this event brandishing a new Brexit deal, he will hope to ram it through Parliament in the two weeks left until Brexit day. And after that? A swift general election, riding the wave of Brexit triumph, to cement his authority?

But if negotiations with the EU fail and Johnson sets a path to no-deal, things could look very different. The trouble for his opponents is that, by this point, their room for maneuver would be severely limited.

Even if they could muster enough support to pass a vote of no confidence, UK law sets out a two-week window for a new government to be formed, or a general election to be called. Meanwhile, the Brexit countdown clock would continue to tick.

Opponents of Brexit are already denouncing Johnson’s machinations as a constitutional outrage and are planning a parliamentary showdown next week.

Johnson however, seems very pleased with himself, pointing out that Parliament will be sitting in the run-up to Brexit and the whole affair is perfectly in order, given that his predecessor, Theresa May, had allowed the previous parliamentary session to drag on.

Whatever happens, it’s clear that next week will be very bumpy indeed ­– and, as ever with Brexit, only the rashest of pundits would attempt to predict the outcome with any degree of certainty. Time to buckle up.

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https://www.cnn.com/europe/live-news/brexit-parliament-suspension-gbr-intl/index.html

2019-08-28 10:56:00Z
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Iran jails two, including UK dual national, for spying for Israel - Aljazeera.com

Iran has jailed two people including a British dual national for 10 years for spying for Israel and another two years for receiving illegal payments, the judiciary said on Tuesday.

Anousheh Ashouri, a woman with British and Iranian citizenship, got 10 years in prison for feeding information to Israel's Mossad spy agency, the judiciary's Mizan Online website quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili as saying on Tuesday.

She was also handed a two-year prison sentence for receiving 33,000 euros ($36,600) in illicit funds from Israel and ordered to pay the same amount in fines.

The United Kingdom's Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) said it was supporting the family of Ashouri following the ruling.

"Our Embassy in Tehran continues to request consular access," an FCO spokesman said in a statement.

"The treatment of all dual nationals detained in Iran is a priority and we raise their cases at the most senior levels. We urge Iran to let them be reunited with their families," the spokesman added.

Ali Johari, an Iranian national, was also sentenced to 10 years in prison for various espionage offences, including "widespread connections with Mossad... and meeting with various elements linked to the Zionists," Esmaili said, quoted by the judiciary's website.

Johari had been in contact with operatives in India, Laos and Sri Lanka, among other countries, and also travelled to "occupied lands", the judiciary added.

He had been in the process of "getting citizenship from this country", said Esmaili, in apparent reference to Israel.

Johari also received two years for accepting illicit funds and was ordered to pay that unspecified amount in fines, said Esmaili.

'Cultural infiltration'

Separately on Tuesday, Esmaili also confirmed that an Iranian appeals court had upheld a 10-year jail sentence against British Council employee Aras Amiri for "cultural infiltration", adding the latter was "already serving her term".

"This person... was identified by us because of her cultural infiltration in society through arts and her widespread activities," he added.

London-based Amiri was arrested in Iran in 2018 during a trip to visit relatives in the country.

Mizan Online reported her original sentence on May 13, saying she had "made a straightforward confession" after being arrested by Iranian intelligence and security agencies "more than a year ago".

At the time, Esmaili said she had been tasked with drawing up and managing cultural "infiltration" projects.

Reacting to the May announcement, the FCO said it was "very concerned" by the case.

The British Council is a cultural and educational organisation with branches around the world. 

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Funding from the FCO makes up about 15 percent of its overall income.

According to the organisation's website, it is not "physically present" in Iran.

Iranian authorities shut down the British Council more than a decade ago for what Esmaili described as "illegal activities".

British-Iranian tensions

The developments came amid heightened tensions between Iran and Britain, a major US ally, with the pair recently embroiled in a bitter spat over the seizure of two oil tankers.

An Iranian tanker was seized off the British overseas territory of Gibraltar on July 4 on suspicion of shipping oil to Syria in breach of EU sanctions.

That vessel was later released, but Iran continues to hold a British-flagged tanker it seized in the Strait of Hormuz on July 19 for allegedly breaking "international maritime rules".

Tensions had already been strained between the two sides over the fate of British-Iranian mother Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe who was arrested by Iranian authorities in 2016 as she was leaving Tehran.

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Zaghari-Ratcliffe, a 41-year-old Thomson Reuters Foundation employee, was later put on trial and is now serving a five-year jail sentence for allegedly trying to topple the Iranian government.

She has frequently denied the sedition charge levelled against her, insisting she was in the country on a family visit with her daughter.    

According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), Iran has arrested at least 14 dual or foreign nationals since 2014, many of whom HRW said had been charged by courts of "cooperating with a 'hostile state'" without sufficient evidence.

"This targeted campaign against foreign and dual nationals sends a threatening message to Iranian expatriates and foreigners interested in working in Iran, that their knowledge and expertise are a liability if they visit the country," HRW's Middle East Director Sarah Leah Whiston said in September 2018.

"Iran's security apparatus has apparently made the despicable decision to use these individuals as bargaining chips to resolve diplomatic disputes," she added.

Iran does not recognise dual nationality and arrests of Iranians accused of espionage has increased since the Islamic Republic's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said last year there had been "infiltration" by Western agents in the country.

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2019-08-27 10:22:00Z
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Five Questions Prince Andrew Still Has To Answer About Jeffrey Epstein - Daily Beast

If you love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage, then we hope you’ll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get it in your inbox on Sunday.

Prince Andrew’s Saturday statement didn’t answer this

Prince Andrew’s strategy for dealing with the fallout of the suicide of his chum, billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein, is now becoming clear: minimize, deny, plead ignorance, and avoid answering specific questions.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/five-questions-prince-andrew-still-has-to-answer-about-jeffrey-epstein

2019-08-26 08:32:00Z
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Five Questions Prince Andrew Still Has To Answer About Jeffrey Epstein - Daily Beast

If you love The Daily Beast’s royal coverage, then we hope you’ll enjoy The Royalist, a members-only series for Beast Inside. Become a member to get it in your inbox on Sunday.

Prince Andrew’s Saturday statement didn’t answer this

Prince Andrew’s strategy for dealing with the fallout of the suicide of his chum, billionaire pedophile Jeffrey Epstein is now becoming clear; minimize, deny, plead ignorance, and avoid answering specific questions.

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https://www.thedailybeast.com/five-questions-prince-andrew-still-has-to-answer-about-jeffrey-epstein

2019-08-25 12:01:00Z
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Trump meets with Britain's Boris Johnson, promises 'very big trade deal' between US, UK after Brexit - Fox News

The U.S. and Britain will work out a “very big trade deal” once the U.K. has left the European Union, President Trump said Sunday morning in France, where Trump and other leaders have gathered for the G-7 summit.

The president also praised new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Brexit during their working breakfast on the second day of the summit.

"He needs no advice. He's the right man for the job,” Trump said.

The president appeared to slight former Prime Minister Theresa May – who he had frequently criticized – by adding that Johnson is “a new person.”

TRUMP TALKS UP ‘SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP’ WITH MACRON, HOURS AFTER THREAT TO SLAP TARIFFS ON FRENCH WINE

U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson attend a working breakfast at the Hotel du Palais on the sidelines of the G-7 summit in Biarritz, France, Sunday, Aug. 25, 2019. (Associated Press)

Johnson, meanwhile, congratulated Trump on his handling of the U.S. economy, but added, “just to register a faint, sheeplike note of our view on the trade war, we're in favor of trade peace on the whole."

Johnson had told British reporters before the meeting that he would ask Trump not to escalate the U.S. trade hostilities with China.

Sunday's meeting was their first since Johnson succeeded May as prime minister in July.

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Earlier Sunday, Trump told reporters "we're getting along well right now with China,” despite a new round of tariffs on Chinese goods Friday and saying that U.S. businesses are “hereby ordered” to leave China.

In retaliation, China has promised to impose new tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. goods.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-us-and-uk-will-have-very-big-trade-deal-post-brexit

2019-08-25 08:04:42Z
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