Rebel Conservative MP Dominic Grieve claimed the Queen would “have to sack” Boris Johnson if he lost a no-confidence vote in the House of Commons.
The prime minister’s senior adviser Dominic Cummings responded by saying MPs “don’t get to choose which votes they respect”. Mr Cummings also dismissed claims of arrogance, stating: “I don’t know very much about very much.”
Tory grandee Sir Malcolm Rifkind also warned the PM he could trigger “the gravest constitutional crisis since the Civil War” if he refused to step down in a no-confidence vote scenario.
Meanwhile, ministers Michael Gove, Priti Patel and Grant Snapps met with officials at the Port of Dover to discuss preparations for Brexit.
Haulers hit out at HMRC after the meeting for months of "incoherent" communication to traders ahead of Britain leaving the EU.
Foreign secretary Dominic Raab flew to the US for the first time since assuming office, where he met with president Donald Trump and secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
He said Mr Trump was "effusive in his warmth" towards the UK, and indicated a "huge appetite" for signing a free trade deal with Britain once it left the EU.
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Good morning, and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of events at Westminster and beyond. Boris Johnson is facing calls to clarify his no-deal Brexit plans, as MPs claim the Queen could intervene and oust him from office if he loses a no-confidence vote in the Commons.
Tory MP Dominic Grieve, having said last month he did not wish to involve Her Majesty in the sordid business of Brexit, has claimed it could soon be time for the Queen to kick out the PM – if he defies a no-confidence vote.
“He would have to resign … if he didn’t resign and there was an alternative government presented which had the support of the House of Commons, in extremis the Queen would have to sack him,” he told Channel 4 News.
“I’ve no desire to see the Queen brought into politics, it’s an invidious position, but we are ultimately in this country a constitutional monarchy.
“The Queen isn’t a decorative extra. She actually has a number of key reserve powers, and one of them is the prerogative of appointing prime ministers and getting rid of prime ministers who no longer have the support of the House of Commons.”
Tory grandee Sir Malcolm Rifkind has warned the prime minister he could trigger “the gravest constitutional crisis since the actions of Charles I led to the Civil War” if he refused to step down in such a scenario.
In a letter to The Times, Sir Malcom wrote: “I have great confidence that the prime minister will ignore the advice of Dominic Cummings. King Charles lost his head by flouting the constitution. Mr Johnson will wish to keep his, while some around him are, clearly, losing theirs.”
John McDonnell has said Labour would not block a second Scottish independence referendum after Nicola Sturgeon hinted at forming a pact to keep the Conservatives out of government.
In an interview with journalist Iain Dale at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, John McDonnell said any decision about holding a vote would be up to the Scottish Parliament. It followed comments reported on Tuesday by Scotland’s first minister that the SNP would “always want to be part of a progressive alternative to a Tory government”.
Asked about another referendum, Mr McDonnell said: “It will be for the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish people to decide that. “They will take a view about whether they want another referendum. Nicola Sturgeon said by late next year or the beginning of 2021.”
He added: “We would not block something like that. We would let the Scottish people decide. That’s democracy.”
Same to safe that not everyone in the Labour party is happy about John McDonnell’s comments on a second independence referendum. Edinburgh South MP Ian Murray said the remarks were “utterly irresponsible”. And party sources have been a bit sweary when speaking to Politics Home editor Kevin Schofield.
Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is heading to Washington today for talks with US secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
The foreign secretary said the UK is at an “important historic crossroads” and the country wants to take its friendship with Canada to the “next level” after meetings in Toronto on Tuesday.
Raab reiterated the government’s desire to leave the EU on 31 October – deal or no deal. “With that in mind we need to ensure everything possible is in place to provide continuity of trade after Brexit, for the benefit of companies and consumers in both our countries and indeed wider countries around the world.”
Businesswoman and pro-EU campaigner Gina Miller suggested it would be “unlawful” if Boris Johnson refused to step down if he lost a confidence vote in parliament.
She said the Fixed-term Parliaments Act is “governed by convention”, telling BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “There is a solid convention that a prime minister losing a vote of no confidence must step down.”
Miller previously went to court and won the right for Parliament to give its consent ahead of the government triggering Article 50 to begin the Brexit process.
She added: “While the Fixed-term Parliaments Act does not replace convention, it can be said the frustration of the principle - which is actually what we invoked in my first case and we won - would be in play because prime minister Johnson’s refusal to go would frustrate the operation and the purpose of the Act, and therefore be unlawful.”
Asked if she could be granted a judicial review in time, Miller replied: “I have already instructed my legal team to take whatever steps necessary to ensure that a prime minister doesn’t attempt to put themselves above the law, and that we would seek some judicial review and clarity. That is already in motion and we would be ready.”
Will Boris Johnson, or his Dominic Cummings, be thinking any differently this morning about defying parliament over a no-deal exit?
Here’s our political correspondent Ashley Cowburn with more on Sir Malcolm Rifkind’s warning and Gina Miller’s pledge to seek a judicial review.
Senior Tory warns Boris Johnson of 'gravest constitutional crisis since Charles I' if he refuses to resign after losing a confidence vote
Prominent businesswoman Gina Miller also threatens judicial review if PM defies conventionHaving held talks with the Estonian PM on Tuesday, Boris Johnson is welcoming the King of Jordan to Downing Street today.
The meeting will cover “deep-rooted, strategic” relations between the two countries, according to a statement from the Jordanian royal court.
Dominic Grieve is not alone in his views about a possible role for the Queen if the prime minister defies a no-confidence vote. One anonymous MP told The Telegraph: “She would have to sack him. Of course she would.”
Incidentally, the newspaper’s columnist Philip Johnston has suggested that Tory MP and Father of the House Ken Clarke could become prime minister in the midst of constitutional chaos.
He says Clarke would be the figure around which MPs opposed to a no-deal Brexit could form a unity government in the 14-day interregnum that would follow a no-confidence vote.
Boris Johnson’s right-hand man Dominic Cummings has rejected Dominic Grieve’s claims he is being “arrogant” with the British constitution.
“I don’t think I am arrogant. I don’t know very much about very much,” he told Sky News.
“Mr Grieve will see what he's right about.”
He said no-deal Brexit preparations were going “great”.
More grim no-deal Brexit planning news. The UK food industry is asking the government to set aside aspects of competition law to allow firms to co-ordinate and direct supplies with each other in the event Britain crashes out without a deal.
Doing so is illegal, as the law stands, and companies engaging in such practices risk being fined by the Competition and Markets Authority.
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) said: “We asked for these reassurances at the end of last year, but we're still waiting.”
The industry says that, because of stockpiling for Christmas, leaving the EU in the autumn could pose more difficulties than the original Brexit date last March.
One retailer also told the BBC that 31 October 31 “is about the worst day you can pick”, as warehouse capacity is at 105 per cent in November, versus 75 per cent to 80 per cent in March. The UK would reportedly need 30 huge empty warehouses to store even a week’s extra food supply.
More criticism for John McDonnell after the shadow chancellor said Labour would not block a second independence referendum in Scotland.
Ruth Davidson said “I feel for those Labour voters that stood side by side with major figures of their party and against the forces of nationalism in 2014.”
Labour MP Stella Creasy, meanwhile, has tweeted about nationalism being the “antithesis of socialism”.
Dominic Raab has held a meeting with Donald Trump, the Foreign Office has revealed.
The foreign secretary held talks in Washington with the president and vice president Mike Pence on Tuesday evening.
In a brief statement, Raab said: “I was delighted to meet the president and the vice president on my first visit to Washington as Foreign Secretary.
“We appreciate the president's warmth and enthusiasm for the UK-US relationship.
“The UK looks forward to working with our American friends to reach a free trade deal that is good for both countries, and co-operating on the common security challenges we face.”
No further details of the meeting were immediately available.
Raab is due to have further talks on Wednesday with other senior administration figures including Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and National Security Adviser John Bolton.
No photos with Trump, but here’s Dominic Raab meeting vice president Mike Pence.
Here’s our political editor Andrew Woodcock with more on Dominic Raab’s talks with Donald Trump – and his other meetings on the tour of North America.
Dominic Raab welcomes Trump's 'warmth and enthusiasm' after Washington meeting
The foreign secretary is on a tour of North America, also taking in Canada and Mexico, to promote trade partnerships with post-Brexit BritainIan Murray is not a happy man. The Labour MP for Edinburgh South has now called on John McDonnell to “clarify his unhelpful freelancing” on the Scottish independence referendum issue. The shadow chancellor is expected to be speaking again at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival at around 12 noon. Let’s see if he clarifies.
In other news this morning, Boris Johnson’s government has overhauled the complex pension rules for some of the highest earning NHS staff.
The health secretary says it means top doctors and surgeons will be able to treat more patients without losing out financially. Here’s Ashley Cowburn with the details.
Ministers announce overhaul of pensions for top doctors and surgeons
'Proposals will give doctors the pension flexibilities they have called for and need to make sure they are rewarded for extra work,' says health secretary
Angela Merkel has been spotted reading a book called The Tyrants. As The Guardian’s Berlin bureau chief notes, it’s a study of psychological makeup of Shakespeare’s despots.
Is the German chancellor doing some preparation work for the upcoming G7 summit perhaps?
Our business reporter Ben Chapman has more on the call from food companies to change competition rules to help them deal with shortages in the event of a no-deal Brexit.
