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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Boris Johnson says no-deal Brexit claims 'wildly overdone' as Hammond says it would cost Treasury £90bn - live news

Afternoon summary

  • Boris Johnson, the favourite in the Tory leadership contest, said that negative claims about the impact of a no-deal Brexit had been “wildly over-done”. (See 1.59pm.) His comment coincided with the chancellor, Philip Hammond, telling MPs that a no-deal Brexit would cost the Treasury £90bn. (See 12.58pm.) The Hammond figure is from this chart in the Treasury’s assessment of the economic impact of Brexit (pdf) published last year.
Cost of no-deal Brexit
Cost of no-deal Brexit Photograph: Treasury
  • Labour has criticised the government for failing to order an independent inquiry into the anti-Corbyn briefing by civil servants published in the Times on Saturday. (See 3.48pm.)

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.

Updated

Hunt accepts no-deal Brexit could turn out very badly

In an interview with ITV Jeremy Hunt, the Tory leadership contest, has effectively conceded that a no-deal Brexit could be as bad as the financial crisis. When asked if he thought that the economic shock from no-deal could be as bad as it was from the 2008 financial crisis, Hunt replied:

The Bank of England’s predictions are that it wouldn’t be quite that bad, but it could be very serious if we get this wrong.

Jeremy Hunt with supporters at the Culloden Hotel, Belfast
Jeremy Hunt with supporters at the Culloden Hotel, Belfast Photograph: Niall Carson/PA

One senior MP who thinks a no-deal Brexit is now more likely (see 4.52pm) is Nick Boles, who left the Conservative party and now sits as an independent because he was in despair at how hardline his colleagues were over Brexit. He was one of the MPs most involved in efforts to stop a no-deal Brexit. But, as Bloomberg’s Robert Hutton reports, now he is almost in favour, on that “it’ll serve them right” principle.

Nick Boles
Nick Boles Photograph: Uk Parliamentary Recording Unit/EPA

Boris Johnson with the DUP Leader Arlene Foster at Stormont in Belfast today.
Boris Johnson with the DUP leader Arlene Foster at Stormont in Belfast today. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA

Updated

Boris Johnson has reaffirmed his opposition to any Brexit deal involving a hard border in Ireland or Northern Ireland being taken out of the UK’s customs territory.

These are from Mujtaba Rahman, the former European commission official who leads on Brexit analysis for the Eurasia consultancy.

Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, has tweeted this defending the decision of his MEPs to turn their backs as the European anthem, Ode to Joy, was being played in the European parliament this morning.

From left to right: Richard Tice, Nigel Farage and Ann Widdecombe with their backs turned as the Ode to Joy was played.
From left to right: Richard Tice, Nigel Farage and Ann Widdecombe with their backs turned as the Ode to Joy was played. Photograph: Patrick Seeger/EPA

Pippa Crerar, the Daily Mirror’s political editor, thinks Labour’s call for an independent inquiry into the anti-Corbyn briefing by civil servants (see 3.48pm) is misguided.

Labour claim Hunt and Johnson between them making promises that would cost £100bn

Labour has costed the pledges being made by Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt in the Tory leadership contest. No opposition costing exercise is worth much unless it produce an enormous, multi-billion figure, and Labour has managed to calculate that, between them, Johnson and Hunt are proposing spending worth £100bn.

According to Labour, Johnson is the most spendthrift, with his manifesto costing £57bn. Hunt’s plans would cost a meagre £43bn, it says.

Cost of Johnson and Hunt’s plans
Cost of Johnson and Hunt’s plans Photograph: Labour

John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said in a statement:

The combined unfunded spending promises amounting to £100bn being thrown around by both Johnson and Hunt once again prove that austerity was a political choice for the Conservatives and not an economic necessity.

Unlike Labour, these Tory candidates can’t account for where their spending will come from. While trying to outdo each other on who is more likely to pursue a no-deal Brexit, and who can make the largest and most reckless commitments, both Johnson and Hunt are putting our economy at risk and can’t be trusted to follow through on their promises to invest.

Labour condemns failure to order independent inquiry into anti-Corbyn briefing by civil servants

Labour claims that the government’s refusal to order an independent inquiry into the anti-Corbyn briefing by civil servants to the Times suggests the establishment is “closing ranks to protect its own”. In a statement following the Downing Street lobby briefing (see 11.37am), Jon Trickett, the shadow minister for the Cabinet Office, said:

The refusal of the government to launch an independent investigation into this clear and unprecedented breach of civil service neutrality at a senior level, shows every sign of the establishment closing ranks to protect its own.

When senior civil servants, who are obliged to be impartial, instead spread disinformation about the leader of the opposition, it is an attack on our democratic system. In these circumstances, nothing less than a thorough investigation, independent of the Cabinet Office, will restore confidence.

On Saturday the Times carried an investigation into how Jeremy Corbyn’s office operates. An inside page spread (paywall), under the headline “Jeremy Corbyn: Bullying, plots and paranoia . . . inside his chaotic bunker”, focused on claims that he is dominated by bullying advisers, and it featured a series of quotes from unnamed Labour figures. But Labour was particularly infuriated by the related front page story, which concentrated on alleged concerns about Corbyn’s health expressed by unnamed senior civil servants. The story (paywall) started: “Senior civil servants have become increasingly concerned about Jeremy Corbyn’s health and warned that he may be forced to stand down as Labour leader because he is not up to the job “physically or mentally”. And the story featured these two quotes from civil servants.

One senior civil servant said: “When does someone say [he] is too ill to carry on as leader of the Labour party let alone prime minister? There must be senior people in the party who know that he is not functioning on all cylinders.”

Another said: “There is a real worry that the Labour leader isn’t up to the job physically or mentally but is being propped up by those around him. There’s growing concern that he’s too frail and is losing his memory. He’s not in charge of his own party.”

Labour has described these comments about Corbyn’s health as “manifestly untrue”.

Jon Trickett
Jon Trickett Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

From the BBC’s Darran Marshall

Earlier I said that when Boris Johnson was asked about the restoration of power-sharing in Northern Ireland, he sounded as if he did not really know much about it. (See 12.45pm.)

The New Statesman’s Patrick Maguire agrees.

Mark Devenport, BBC Northern Ireland’s political editor, thinks so too.

Johnson and Hunt at Tory leadership hustings - Summary

Here are the main points from the Belfast Tory leadership hustings.

  • Boris Johnson, the favourite in the contest, said that negative claims about the impact of a no-deal Brexit had been “wildly over-done”. (See 1.59pm.) His comments coincided with the chancellor, Philip Hammond, telling MPs that a no-deal Brexit would cost the Treasury £90bn. (See 12.58pm.)
  • Johnson said that one of the benefits of Brexit would be that it would enable the UK to set up a network of free ports. When a questioner asked about the possibility of having a network of tax-free zones in Northern Ireland, Johnson replied enthusiastically:

Well, that’s the sort of thing we can do, but only once we leave the EU. We could do free ports. It would be a massive boost to this economy, but only once we come out. I will have about six of them, by the way. We should definitely be doing free ports and tax-free zones. They have delivered around the world. I think there are around 130 countries that have them. We don’t, because of our membership of the EU. And there are plainly areas that would benefit from them.

As my colleague Rob Davies reports, last year a European parliament report said free ports can facilitate “illegal activity” such as tax evasion and money laundering.

  • Johnson said he did not know why people depicted him as a rightwing populist and blamed “hysteria” for this characterisation of his position. The Tory broadcaster Iain Dale, who was chairing the proceedings, asked him why he was seen as a rightwing populist when his record suggested he was “about as liberal as you can get”. Johnson replied:

Well, I know. I don’t know where it all comes from. It’s complete hysteria. But there you go. People will say all sorts of extraordinary things and you just have to keep trying to correct them.

I’m an enthusiast for that idea. I think it’s a good idea. But, again, that is the kind of project that should be pursued by a dynamic Northern Ireland government, championed by local people, with local consent and interest, backed by local business, and mobilised by the politicians of Northern Ireland. That’s what should happen.

The last time Johnson floated this idea a retired offshore engineer shot it down with a memorable letter to the Sunday Times describing the proposal as “about as feasible as building a bridge to the moon”.

  • Johnson accused the EU of exerting “moral blackmail” over the UK in relation to the Irish backstop. He said:

Under no circumstances, whatever happens, will I allow the EU or anyone else to create any kind of division down the Irish Sea or attenuate our union.

That is why I resigned over Chequers. It is a terrible moral blackmail it puts on the UK government. We can’t have that.

The way to protect the Union is to come out the EU whole and entire. Solve the border issues where they belong in the FTA (free trade agreement) we are going to do.

  • Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary and Johnson’s rival in the contest, said that he has privately opposed the backstop idea in cabinet. He said:

I do recognise that we are never going to have a deal to leave the EU with the backstop. So it has to change or it has to go.

I was one of the people who argued against accepting the backstop in the cabinet, but I think it is important the prime minister has a loyal foreign secretary so I kept those discussions private.

  • Johnson and Hunt both said it was primarily for Northern Ireland to decide if it wanted to liberalise its laws to allow abortion and same-sex marriage, in line with the rest of the UK. Neither of them backed the idea of London acting unilaterally to change the law, and they both said this showed the need for the Northern Ireland power-sharing executive to be revived.
  • Hunt said it was “totally unacceptable” for Northern Ireland politicians to be not doing their jobs while they were still being paid. He said:

It is totally unacceptable that politicians who are paid to run the NHS, to run the schools, to promote inward investment are not turning up to work and doing their job. We have to be absolutely clear this is a big abdication of responsibility. They need to get to delivering what was a fundamental tent of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement, which was that devolved assembly.

But Hunt did not explicitly call for MLAs (members of the legislative assembly) to lose their pay while the assembly remains suspended. MLAs have already received a partial pay cut, but they do still get some of their salary.

  • Hunt said there would be “serious consequences” if China failed to honour the terms of the 1984 joint declaration signed with the UK on Hong Kong. He said:

We expect that legally-binding agreement to be honoured and if it isn’t there will be serious consequences.

Asked what those consequences would be, he said:

You have to allow me some latitude as foreign secretary to make a decision on that when the appropriate time comes.

But I want to be absolutely clear that our values are not negotiable and that we expect all countries to honour their legal agreements with the United Kingdom ...

We do want calm but we want the government of Hong Kong and the government of China to understand that what makes Hong Kong special is the freedoms of its people.

Jeremy Hunt at the Tory leadership hustings in Belfast.
Jeremy Hunt at the Tory leadership hustings in Belfast. Photograph: POOL/Reuters

Boris Johnson has been tweeting from Belfast.

Johnson says negative claims about no-deal Brexit 'wildly over-done'

And this is what Boris Johnson said at the Belfast hustings about a no-deal Brexit. (See 12.58pm.) He called it at one point a WTO Brexit (which is what Nigel Farage calls no-deal.) Johnson said:

I think we should be very positive about Brexit, and we should not be terrified of a no-deal Brexit. We should not be terrified of coming out on WTO terms.

We will make sure we look after the agricultural interest ... whatever is necessary to protect farmers. We will make sure that just-in-time supply chains are protected, and I think a lot of the negativity about a WTO Brexit has been wildly over-done.

People say that there won’t be any clean drinking water, and the planes won’t fly, and there won’t be milk solids and glucose and whey to make Mars bars. Do you really believe that? It is total nonsense. I prophesy very confidently that we will have a successful Brexit, the planes will fly, there will be clean drinking water, and there will be whey for the Mars bars, because where there’s a will, there’s a whey, as I never tire of saying.

Boris Johnson speaking at the Tory hustings in Belfast.
Boris Johnson speaking at the Tory hustings in Belfast. Photograph: Peter Morrison/PA

Updated

Hammond says no-deal Brexit would cost exchequer £90bn

Turning back to Treasury questions, here are the top lines from what could be Philip Hammond’s last parliamentary question time as chancellor. By the time the next Treasury questions is due, he is likely to be out of the cabinet. Hammond himself admitted that it was “highly unlikely” that he would remain at the Treasury under the next PM.

  • He said that, under a no-deal Brexit, there would be no money available for longterm tax cuts or spending increases. He told MPs:

We’ve built up around £26/27bn of fiscal headroom and the purpose of having that headroom is precisely in order to protect the UK economy from the immediate effects of a possible no-deal exit.

But I have no doubt whatsoever that in a no-deal exit we will need all of that money and more to respond to the immediate impacts of the disruption of a no-deal exit, and that will mean there is no money available for longer-term either tax cuts or spending increases.

  • He said a no-deal Brexit could cost the exchequer £90bn. He said:

Let me go further, the government’s analysis suggests that in a disruptive no-deal exit there will be a hit to the exchequer of about £90bn. That will also have to be factored in to future spending and tax decisions.

  • He would not rule out voting with Labour to block a no-deal Brexit. When John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, asked Hammond if he would vote with Labour on a no-confidence motion to stop no-deal, he replied:

I think at this stage in my career I won’t speculate on my future actions.

What I would say is that the government’s analysis shows that a no-deal exit would mean that all the regions, nations, and sectors of the UK’s economy would have lower economic output compared to today’s arrangements and compared to the white paper scenario that the government set out.

It is important that we all understand that preparing for no-deal, which is a perfectly sensible thing to do because it might happen to us without our volition, preparing for no-deal is not the same as avoiding the effects of no-deal.

Hammond also said at other points during the session:

As I have consistently said in this house I don’t believe that a no-deal exit would be in the interests of this country and I will do everything I can to make sure that we avoid a no-deal exit ...

I think I have been consistently clear that I believe leaving with a no-deal exit will be bad for the UK, bad for the British economy, bad for the British people.

We cannot however rule out that that could happen because it is not entirely in our hands, but I do agree that it would be wrong for a British government to seek to pursue no-deal as a policy and I believe that it will be for the House of Commons of which I will continue proudly to be a member to ensure that that doesn’t happen.

During the session McDonnell also gave Hammond a book as a leaving present. Explaining what it was, McDonnell said:

I gave his predecessor a little red book as a present [Mao’s little red book], we have another red book, but this is a guide to London’s rebel walks and we hope he’ll enjoy it in his leisure periods.

Philip Hammond
Philip Hammond Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/PA

Updated

Johnson ends by saying he wants a cross-party agreement to find a solution to the adult social care problem.

And that’s it. The hustings are over.

I will post a summary soon.

Q: What about having tax-free zones in Belfast?

Johnson says he is in favour. But we can only do this when we are out of the EU, he says. He says he wants to establish six free ports around the UK.

Johnson dismisses claims he is rightwing populist as 'hysteria'

Johnson says the DUP have been “indispensable” in preventing the country being government by Jeremy Corbyn.

Q: Do you get frustrated at being portrayed as a rightwing populist, when by your record you are as liberal as they got?

Johnson agrees that it is strange. He says it is ‘hysteria”.

  • Johnson dismisses claims he is a rightwing populist as “hysteria”.

Before he became London mayor lots of lefties threatened to leave the country if he were elected. After eight years most of them were working for him, or at least backing him, he says.

Q: What would you do to Tory MPs who do not accept the result of the referendum.

The question gets a round of applause.

Johnson says he would show them as much love as possible. The party needs to unite, he says. He says the party has to deliver Brexit.

We either do this or we’re doomed.

Johnson says he is the candidate with the support of more than half of Tory MPs.

The live feed is back up.

Q: Can you be sure parliament won’t stop you leaving on 31 October without a deal?

Boris Johnson says MPs will take their responsibilities seriously. They can carry on haemorrhaging votes. Or they can do the responsible thing?

He says this is existential for both parties.

Iain Dale says Dominic Grieve, the Tory pro-European, is on his LBC programme tonight. What should Dale ask him?

Johnsons says Dale should ask him if he wants to deliver on the referendum result, and let the government do lots of good Conservative things, or allow a Corbyn government.

The live feed has gone down. I’m afraid I will have to rely my colleague Rory Carroll, Twitter and the wires for coverage of the rest of what Boris Johnson has to say.

Johnson is now taking questions.

Q: How will you get a positive Brexit for Northern Ireland?

Johnson says there should be more positivity about Brexit.

A lot of the negativity about a WTO Brexit has been wildly over-done.

Q: What about plans for a fixed link between Northern Ireland and Britain?

Johnson says there is a plan for a fixed link with Scotland. He is in favour of it. But he says it is for the Northern Ireland assembly to champion this idea.

Updated

Q: Do you watch Game of Thrones?

Johnson says he has watched some of it, but he did not get into it.

Q: Do you identify with a GoT character? Or a Star Wars one (also filmed in Northern Ireland)?

Johnson says he does not know Got well enough to identify with a character. But he does identify with “the guy with the lightsaber”.

Iain Dale says: “Luke Skywalker.”

Johnson explains why. He says lightsabers are made in his constituency, Uxbridge. He has one in his office.

Updated

Q: Should the Conservative party organise properly in Northern Ireland?

Johnson says today’s meeting looks quite organised.

He says he thinks he is the only candidate who has addressed a meeting of Northern Ireland Conservatives.

Q: Should abortion and same-sex marriage be allowed in Northern Ireland?

This is primarily a matter for the people of Northern Ireland, he says. That is why the assembly should be revived.

Q: What do you say to Lyra McKee’s partner who says the UK government should legislate for same-sex marriage here?

Johnson says he understands her point of view. But he thinks it is for Northern Ireland to decide this.

Johnson says he wants the UK to come out of the backstop altogether.

He says the withdrawal agreement as it stands is “a dead letter”. Some bits of it, like citizens’ rights, could be disaggregated.

He says the British came up with the backstop plan. That was because many on the British side wanted to stay in the customs union. So the backstop represents the “incoherence” of the British stance: wanting to leave the EU, but stay in the customs union.

Q: What about a snap referendum in Northern Ireland on staying in the customs union?

Johnson says the only thing that would snap would be people’s patience. The thing to do is to get on and deliver Brexit.

The Conservative party will not recover as a fighting force until we get Brexit over the line.

Updated

Iain Dale asks his first question.

Q: I asked my taxi driver on the way here what he would like to ask. He wanted to know why the MLAs were being paid. What would you do to get the assembly up and running again?

Johnson says he would urge all sides to get the assembly back running again.

Q: What are the problems?

Johnson says people know what the problems are. Compromise is needed.

Q: What would you do?

Johnson says he would do what needs to be done.

(He does not sound as if he really knows much at all about the reasons for the Northern Ireland assembly being suspended.)

Boris Johnson is doing his opening speech now.

He recalls giving a speech in Bangor. At the time the Tories were facing difficulties. There are problems now, but this time the party can turn it around.

He says the Tories need to deliver Brexit. But they need to come out together, to keep the UK united.

He says, if he becomes prime minister, he will brand himself as minister for the union.

He says the party needs to stand up for Conservatism. Their ideas are the right ideas. They have to stand up for wealth creators, and get their mojo back.

If the Tories deliver Brexit, they will win back support from the Brexit party and the Lib Dems. He says Jeremy Corbyn has sympathised with the UK’s enemies and been quite “shameless” in his support of the IRA. That is a good reason to keep him away from power, even before you consider his economic plans. Corbyn’s nationalisation plans would cost the country £300bn, Johnson claims.

From Sky’s David Blevins

Q: What more can we do to protect Christians being persecuted around the world?

Hunt says there has been “a bit of a blind spot” in foreign policy. Whether through political correctness, or awkwardness about the UK’s colonial past, the UK has not championed the cause of Christians being persecuted. The Middle East used to be 20% Christian. Now it is 5%. He says British aid is often going places where Christians are being persecuted. The Bishop of Truro has been carrying out a review on what more could be done for the Foreign Office. He says this will be published next week.

And that’s all from Hunt.

Q: Nigel Farage is a highly competent operator. We need all the help we can get. Is there any chance of using his expertise?

Hunt says the question was phrased in a seductive way. But he is going to disappoint the questioner. He says Farage wants a different outcome, a WTO Brexit. That would be bad for Northern Ireland, he says.

Q: Will the Northern Ireland secretary remain a full member of your cabinet?

Yes, says Hunt.

Q: Do you agree we have been blind to what China is doing to its people? Do we have a moral duty to speak up for the people of Hong Kong?

This question gets a round of applause.

Hunt says he was asked about this on Sky News. He has never had to fight for his freedom, he says. He says his father fought in the cold war; his generation knew what it was like to put your life on the line. China is lifting lots of people out of poverty. And we wish them well with that, he says. But he says we can never compromise on our values. Since last year the situation in China has got worse. We cannot support the violence in Hong Kong, but China must understand the concerns of the people of Hong Kong, particularly over the extradition bill. People fear being extradited to mainland China if they speak out.

Q: What can the UK actually do?

Hunt says Hong Kong is part of China. But its freedoms re guaranteed by the legally binding agreement between China and the UK. If those freedoms are not honoured, there will be “serious consequences”.

Q: What will they be?

Hunt says he does not want to say. He needs some flexibility.

Updated

Q: Do you think students should be able to register with more than on GP, so they can visit a GP when they are at home from university?

Hunt says he thinks students should be able to visit GPs during the university holidays.

But he mentions other policies that might appeal to young people. The interest rate on student loans could be cut, he says. But there are values issues too, like climate change. Young people want to see politicians doing more on climate change, he says.

Q: What will you do to ensure that Northern Ireland does not lose out from the loss of EU money? What is happening to the shared prosperity fund?

Hunt says that he wants to ensure more spending does not just go to London and the south of England.

Hunt says the Tories have been complacent about the union.

They need to work harder to maintain it. Some of the things that can be done are symbolic, like visiting Northern Ireland more often.

Q: Would you ask the party chairman to involve the party in Northern Ireland more?

Hunt says he would be open to that.

Q: Can you rule out a Northern Ireland-only referendum on the backstop?

Yes, says Hunt.

Hunt says he would renew the confidence and supply deal with the DUP.

Q: The last deal with the DUP cost £1bn. Will you give them another £3bn for the rest of this parliament?

Hunt says the government agreed to give £1bn to Northern Ireland. He hopes the DUP will support the government on Brexit.

Updated

From my colleague Lisa O’Carroll

Hunt is now taking questions from the audience.

Q: Yesterday you said your negotiating team would include the DUP, but not Conservatives from Northern Ireland. Why?

Hunt says he would include the DUP because he needs a team that can get a deal through parliament.

Q: Should the Conservatives organise properly in Northern Ireland?

Hunt says he would like to see the Conservatives properly functioning in Northern Ireland, with candidates in the assembly.

Q: Should abortion be changed in Northern Ireland?

Hunt says if he lived in Northern Ireland he would want the law changed. He says that is why the assembly should be revived.

Q: Do you want the law changed to allow gay marriage in Northern Ireland?

Hunt says you need a great deal of social consent to change the law on something like this in Northern Ireland.

He says he hopes the law does change.

And he says public opinion can move quickly.

Q: With your speech yesterday, are you trying to “out-Boris Boris”?

Not at all, says Hunt.

He says he always argued in cabinet for more intense no-deal planning.

He says he wants a deal.

But people admire the UK because it is a democracy, and the politicians do what the public want.

Q: What is the difference between your deadline and Boris Johnson’s?

Hunt says, if parliament takes the no-deal option off the table, it’s off the table.

But he wants to give the EU a reasonable amount of time to decide if it will do a deal.

Q: How would you get a Brexit deal without a backstop?

Hunt says everyone agrees they don’t want a hard border.

The objection to the backstop is that the UK could be trapped in it.

He says he argued against it in cabinet. But he thinks the PM deserves a loyal foreign secretary, and did not air his difference of opinion.

He says he thinks technology is the answer.

Q: The EU does not accept that?

Hunt acknowledges that. But he says he thinks it does provide an answer.

The broadcaster Iain Dale is chairing the hustings.

Q: How would you revive the Northern Ireland power-sharing executive?

Hunt says it is totally unacceptable that MLA (members of the legislative assembly) are being paid when they are not sitting and not doing their job.

He says he would put in the time personally to get the assembly back up and running.

  • Hunt suggests MLAs should not be paid while the assembly is suspended.

Q: Why has it not happened already? Talks have been going on for 10 weeks.

Hunt says the fact that the talks are happening is a start.

Hunt is now running through his four non-Brexit priorities. First, he would fire up the economy. Second, he wants the UK to “walk tall” in the world. Third, he wants the Tories to be the government that abolishes illiteracy, because a quarter of primary school pupils leave school without being able to read to the expected standard. And, fourth, he wants to ensure the Tories beat Jeremy Corbyn.

Hunt is now delivering his standard stump speech. He says the government has to deliver Brexit. He has spoken to farmers in Northern Ireland about the dangers of a no-deal Brexit. That is why he announced plans for a no-deal package to help farmers, he says. (See 11.08am.)

But no-deal is not his first choice, he says.

Jeremy Hunt is on stage now. He says he was culture secretary in 2012 when his department negotiated the tax credit for the film industry that brought Game of Thrones to Northern Ireland.

He also says, as foreign secretary, he knows how much people admire Northern Ireland for the peace process.

In Belfast it looks as if Jeremy Hunt is going first. A Hunt campaign video is now being played.

In the Commons Philip Hammond, the chancellor, is taking questions.

He told MPs that, although the spending review this year is meant to cover three years, the next government might just decide to have a one-year one.

He also said he would do everything possible to stop a no-deal Brexit.

From the BBC’s Darran Marshall

Jeremy Hunt has posted this on Twitter.

Johnson and Hunt at Tory leadership hustings in Belfast

The Tory leadership hustings in Belfast is due to start soon. There will be a live feed at the top of the blog once its underway.

There are already been six official hustings already - we’ve covered the Birmingham one here, the digital one here, the Bournemouth one here, and the Exeter one here - and so by this stage we should be facing diminishing returns. It becomes less likely that the candidates will say anything new.

The Conservatives only have a few hundred members in Northern Ireland. But finding a solution to the backstop is at the heart of attempts to get a Brexit deal through parliament, and the hustings may through up some interesting lines on this.

No 10 says inquiry launched into anti-Corbyn briefing by civil servants

An investigation has been launched into whether senior civil servants said they thought Jeremy Corbyn was “too frail” to be prime minister, Downing Street has said. As the Press Association reports, the prime minister’s spokesman told journalists at the morning lobby briefing:

The Cabinet Office is investigating this potential breach of the civil service code fully and fairly just as it would any other. If we are able to identify an individual responsible we will take disciplinary action.

Jeremy Corbyn
Jeremy Corbyn Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images

And Sir Ed Davey, a candidate to be Lib Dem leaders, has praised his party’s delegation of MEPs. He claims they will heal the divide in the UK.

But the Lib Dem MEPs were wearing teeshirts with “Stop Brexit” on the front and “Bollocks to Brexit” on the back. Opposing Brexit is one legitimate ambition. Uniting the country is another. But trying to do both at the same time may not be particularly realistic ...

Nigel Farage, the Brexit party leader, says his MEPs are “cheerfully defiant” in Strasbroug this morning.

Yesterday Jeremy Hunt announced plans for a £6bn bail out for farmers and the fishing industry in the event of a no-deal Brexit.

But, as Anna Hill, presenter of the BBC’s Farming Today, says, WTO rules could make payment of subsidies of this kind illegal.

@DmitryOpines is Dmitry Grozoubinski, a former Australian trade negotiator, who set up the ExplainTrade.com website. He explains the potential problems for Hunt in a Twitter thread starting here.

And here are some of his tweets.

According to the Telegraph’s James Crisp, the Brexit party leader Nigel Farage said this morning that the Conservatives would be swept away by a “turquoise takeover” (ie, the Brexit party) if they failed to take the UK out of the EU by 31 October.

From left: Brexit party MEPs Richard Tice, Nigel Farage and Ann Widdecombe in the European parliament in Strasbourg this morning.
From left: Brexit party MEPs Richard Tice, Nigel Farage and Ann Widdecombe in the European parliament in Strasbourg this morning. Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images

Here is a video clip of the protest by Brexit party MEPs in the European parliament.

From the Sun’s Nick Gutteridge

Boris Johnson is expected to take part in the BBC’s televised debate with Jeremy Hunt on Tuesday 16 July, a source in his camp says. Jeremy Hunt is claiming that the BBC only scheduled the debate for 16 July - after most Tory members are expected to have cast their votes - because Johnson would not have accepted an earlier invitation. (See 9.59am.) Hunt implies the BBC should have ignored Johnson’s objections, scheduled an earlier debate, and empty-chaired him if he did not turn up. Channel 4 empty chaired Johnson when he refused to attend its debate in mid June, but in the past BBC editors have always been reluctant to empty chair candidates who stay away, because it looks like editorialising.

The Channel 4 Tory leadership debate, with an empty podium representing Boris Johnson.
The Channel 4 Tory leadership debate, with an empty podium representing Boris Johnson. Photograph: REX/Shutterstock

Here is more on the first session of the new European parliament.

From the BBC’s Adam Fleming

Here is the Brexit party MEP Jonathan Bullock responding to Antonio Tajani, the European parliament’s president, saying they would be happy to stand for the anthem of another country.

And this is from Richard Corbett, leader of the Labour MEPs, on the Brexit party protest.

Jeremy Hunt has accused the BBC of “caving” in to the Boris Johnson campaign because it is planning a Tory leadership debate two weeks today, by which time most members will probably have voted. Postal ballots go out at the end of this week, and the assumption is that most members will return them within 48 hours.

Brexit party MEPs turn their backs while European anthem played at parliament's opening session

The European parliament is meeting for the first time this morning since the European elections. The UK is sending 29 Brexit party MEPs to Strasbourg (where the parliament is sitting this week), but they marked the opening by turning their backs during the playing of Ode to Joy, the European anthem.

This is from ITV’s James Mates:

Updated

Boris Johnson's Brexit plan could prove fatal to Tory party, says former leader William Hague

William Hague, the former Conservative party leader and former foreign secretary, has written a candid column (paywall) in the Daily Telegraph today about the Tory leadership contest. You would not guess it from the rather dull headline the paper has put on it - in the paper edition, “We Tories face a tough choice, but for me one candidate stood out” - but that might have something to do with the fact that the Telegraph is enthusiastically backing Boris Johnson, its star columnist, for next PM, and Hague is effectively arguing Johnson could destroy the Conservative party.

Hague backs Hunt for Tory leader - although he also says a no-deal Brexit would be disastrous. Perhaps the column was written before Hague read Hunt’s speech yesterday, in which Hunt significantly hardened up his Brexit stance, saying that he would start his premiership on the assumption that a no-deal Brexit was the most likely outcome.

Here are the main points from Hague’s article.

  • Hague warns that Boris Johnson’s Brexit strategy could prove fatal to the Conservative party. Near the start of his column he says:

The whole idea of a broad, centre-Right party, which has an unbroken history in this country from Robert Peel to Theresa May, is now under threat. Serious mistakes in the coming months could be terminal for the world’s most enduring political force.

And then later he explains that Johnson’s determination to deliver Brexit by 31 October in all circumstances, despite parliament’s opposition to no-deal, could lead to a general election which would be disastrous for the Tories. He explains:

For the fundamental problem with willingly threatening a no-deal Brexit, or saying it will happen at the end of October, come what may, is that this new prime minister has no guaranteed majority in the House of Commons. Faced with that reality, the grotesque expedient of somehow ignoring a majority in parliament – which would mean at worst an election and, even at best, the complete inability to pass any legislation afterwards – has reared its head.

Boris has demonstrated his strong convictions by saying “do or die” and refusing to rule out the proroguing of parliament. But in doing so, however much I wish him well if he is elected, he has lost my vote, because “do and then die” could very easily be the outcome.

  • Hague says a no-deal Brexit could be disastrous for the economy, for the union and for the Conservative party. He explains:

There is of course a second criterion, namely who can best take party and country out of the spectacular mess that the process of leaving the EU has become. The Conservatives face immense twin dangers, although many in the party are focused on only one of these without realising the full scale of the other.

Behind them is the Brexit party in full cry, threatening electoral calamity if the promised exit hasn’t happened soon. But ahead of them is a no-deal Brexit, with its unknown consequences. It is as if a flock of sheep is running full tilt from the wolves while little realising it might be heading for a cliff. For the Tory party to ignore the pleas of manufacturing businesses and farms, risk placing the union in greater jeopardy, and leave the country in the humiliating position of starting endless new negotiations in a less advantageous position, is a combination that is dangerous indeed.

Ironically, Hunt’s “heading for a cliff” metaphor is exactly the same as one used by the SNP yesterday - although the SNP version was more colourful; Kirsty Blackman described Johnson and Hunt as the “Thelma and Louise of Brexit”. But the SNP is opposed to both Johnson and Hunt. Hague has concluded Hunt would be the best Tory leader because Hague thinks he would be best placed to achieve a Brexit deal, even though yesterday Hunt stressed his willingness to manage without a deal.

  • Hague casts doubt on whether Johnson has the ability to run government effectively. He says:

Jeremy Hunt ... is one of the most talented ministers with whom I have shared the cabinet table. One of the reasons he was health secretary for so long was that his senior colleagues did not believe anyone else could handle it. In the coalition government, I watched him, through one winter after another, deal with the strains on the NHS with steady and unflappable competence. Good humoured and rational in all circumstances, he is definitely someone you want with you in a crisis ...

All governments can only function properly if the occupant of No 10 masters the machinery of it for themselves. They cannot be aloof from it. Whether the civil servants run down the corridors depends on the 24-hour-a-day grip, focus and drive of the man or woman at the top. I hope Boris Johnson can deliver that, but I know for sure that Jeremy Hunt can. I therefore have to lean very heavily towards voting for him.

We’ve got a Tory leadership elections hustings this morning, so there is a lot more of this to come.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9am: New MEPs take their seats in the European parliament in Strasbourg for the first time.

Morning: EU leaders meet in Brussels again to continue their debate about who should hold the top jobs in the EU. They have already been talking for 20 hours without reaching agreement.

Around 11.30am: Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt take part in a Conservative leadership election hustings in Belfast.

11.30am: Philip Hammond, the chancellor, takes questions in the Commons.

12.30pm: Nick Boles, the independent MP who left the Tories over Brexit, speaks at an Institute for Government event.

As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although I will be focusing mostly on the Tory leadership contest. I plan to publish a summary at lunchtime and then another when I finish.

You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe roundup of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.

If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.

I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.

If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.

William Hague
William Hague Photograph: Dan Kitwood/PA

Updated

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