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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Jeremy Hunt’s Soviet Union comparison was 'insulting', says EU leader Donald Tusk - Politics live

Donald Tusk, president of the European council
Donald Tusk, president of the European council Photograph: Olivier Matthys/AP

Early afternoon summary

  • Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, has said that when Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secetary, implicitly compared the EU to the Soviet Union in his Tory conference speech, he was being “unwise” and “insulting”. (See 2.15pm.)

I’m afraid that’s all from me for today. I need to go to a meeting.

Thanks for the comments.

Tory Brexiters have welcomed Donald Tusk’s comment about a “Canada plus plus plus” deal being on the table.

This is from Jacob Rees-Mogg.

And Steve Baker is saying the same, the Telegraph’s Christopher Hope reports.

Here is the Tom Watson letter in full.

Updated

Tom Watson renews call for inquiry into possible Russian interference in EU referendum

Tom Watson, Labour’s deputy leader, has written to the foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt this lunchtime in the aftermath of the GRU hacking allegations asking him about possible Russian interference in the Brexit referendum in 2016.

In his letter he asks Hunt:

Can you therefore confirm whether any investigation is being undertaken by our intelligence services and other authorities into Russian interference in the UK? If it is not will you instruct the security services and other relevant bodies to begin one?

The MP has previously called for a “a Mueller-style full public inquiry into Russian interference in the referendum” and he repeated that demand in the letter - asking Hunt “does the government oppose such an inquiry or will you grant one?”

Watson’s remarks in part refer to Ukip donor Arron Banks. The Electoral Commission is currently investigating the source of the multi-million pound donations and loans Banks gave the smaller Leave.EU campaign. Banks has denied any improper Russian associations although he did meet the Russian ambassador for a “six hour boozy lunch” in 2015 and was subsequently offered the chance of participating in a gold deal, which Banks says he declined to do.

Donald Tusk's press statement - Summary

Here are the main points from what Donald Tusk said after his meeting with Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister.

  • Tusk, the president of the European council, said that when Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secetary, implicitly compared the EU to the Soviet Union in his Tory conference speech, he was being “unwise” and “insulting”. (See 1.56pm.)
  • He said negotiating Brexit would be easier now the Tory conference was over.

Unacceptable remarks that raise the temperature will achieve nothing except wasting more time. What needs to be done is maximum progress by the October European council.

I was [a] party leader myself for 15 years and I know what the rules of party politics are. But now the Tory party conference is over we should get down to business.

  • He said the EU remained willing to offer the UK not just a Canada-style trade deal, but “Canada plus plus plus”. That is what David Davis, the former Brexit secretary, used to say he wanted, and it is essentially what Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, is demanding (although Johnson calls it “SuperCanada”). Tusk said:

The EU offer has been not just a Canada deal, but a Canada plus plus plus deal - much further reaching [than the EU-Canada deal] on trade, on internal security and on foreign policy cooperation. This is a true measure of respect and this offer remains in place. The EU is serious about getting the best possible deal, even though we have not changed our mind that the consequences of Brexit will be negative, for both sides.

  • He defended the EU’s treatment of Theresa May at Salzburg, saying telling the truth was a sign of respect.

Telling the truth, even if difficult and unpleasant, is the best way of showing respect for partners. That’s how it was in Salzburg, and that’s also how it will work in the coming days ...

Emotional arguments that stress the issue of dignity sound attractive, but they do not facilitate agreement. Let us remember that every actor in this process has their dignity. And confrontation in this field will not lead to anything good.

  • He said the role of the EU’s negotiators was to “defend the interests of the European Union as a whole, and all the EU member states”.
  • He condemned the Russian attempted cyber-security attack on the OPCW and said he would put cyber-security on the agenda for the next EU summit.
  • He said the EU was fully united behind Ireland over Brexit.

Updated

Jeremy Hunt's Soviet Union comparison was 'insulting', says Donald Tusk

This is what Donald Tusk said about Jeremy Hunt’s speech to the Conservative conference on Sunday implicitly comparing the EU to the Soviet Union. Tusk, the president of the European council, said:

In respecting our partners, we expect the same in return. Comparing the European Union to the Soviet Union is as unwise as it is insulting.

The Soviet Union was about prisons and gulags, borders and walls, violence against citizens and neighbours. The European Union is about freedom and human rights, prosperity and peace, life without fear; it is about democracy and pluralism, a continent without internal borders and walls.

As the president of the European Council, and someone who spent half of my life in the Societ bloc, I know what I am talking about.

The Soviet spirit is still alive. You will know best where to find this spirit - not in Brussels. And I am sure you will also remember who was the first to declare full solidarity with the UK at that critical moment.

Q: Should Hunt resign over his comments?

That’s not my problem, says Tusk.

And that’s it. This was not intended to be a press conference, and the statements are over.

I will post full quotes in a moment.

Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, is speaking now.

He says he also wants the EU and the UK to get down to business.

He wants a deal by November if possible, he says.

Tusk is still speaking.

He says he will put cyber-security on the agenda for the next EU summit in the light of today’s revelations.

Unacceptable comments do not help, he says.

He says he was a party leader, and knows the rules of party politics.

But now the Conservative conference is over, it is “time to get down to business”.

Tusk says EU is still offering the UK a 'Canada plus plus plus' deal

Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, and Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, are speaking to journalists after their meeting in Brussels now.

Tusk says the EU wants the best relationship with the UK after Brexit.

But the EU will not give up its values and interests, he says.

He says from the start the EU has offered, not just a Canada deal, but “a Canada plus plus plus” deal”. It goes much further than the Canada trade deal on issues like security.

This offer is still on the table, he says.

  • Tusk says EU is still offering the UK a “Canada plus plus plus” deal.

And he criticises what Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, said in his speech to the Tory conference.

Comparing the European Union to the Soviet Union is unwise at it is insulting.

  • Tusk says Hunt’s EU/Soviet Union comparison was “unwise” and “insulting”.

Updated

Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, has posted this tweet about today’s revelations about the GRU.

Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, has recorded a clip for broadcasters with his response to the new revelations about the GRU attempted cyber-attack against he Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. He said:

If anyone had any questions in their mind about Russian military involvement in the Salisbury attacks, this will put to rest those doubts because we have evidence of the Russian military launching a cyber-attack on the very international organisation in the Netherlands set up to investigate those novichok attacks. And why would you do that if you weren’t the guilty party?

The reality is that this is part of a pattern of cyber-attacks in the UK, the US, Malaysia, Switzerland, now the Netherlands, and the Russian government needs to know that if they flout international law in this way, there will be consequences, they will be exposed, and people will see the Russian government for what they are, which is an organisation that is trying to fester instability throughout the world, and that is totally unacceptable.

Jeremy Hunt
Jeremy Hunt Photograph: Sky News

At the briefing in The Hague Peter Wilson, the British ambassador to the Netherlands, confirmed that Porton Down, the military research laboratory, was targeted by the GRU. He said:

Another of the cyber actors identified as the GRU was Sandworm, which was active in the wake of the Salisbury attacks.

I can reveal that they were behind the following attempted intrusions: in March, straight after the Salisbury attack, the GRU attempted to compromise UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office computer systems via a spear fishing attack.

In April GRU intrusions targeted both the computers of the UK Defence and Science Technology Laboratory [better known as Porton Down] as well as the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

And in May, GRU hackers sent spear fishing emails which impersonated Swiss federal authorities to target OPCW employees directly and thus OPCW computer systems.

General Onno Eichelsheim, head of the Dutch intelligence service, told the briefing in The Hague:

It’s not always clear why [the Russians] did the operation towards the OPCW because that does not show on their equipment. What I know is they were trying to target the OPCW networks in the period that they were investigating on the Skripals and on the Douma case.

Dutch/UK claims about Russian cyber-attack on OPCW dismissed as 'big fantasies' by Moscow

The Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has dismissed the new hacking accusations from the UK as “big fantasies”.

The Dutch authorities released pictures of the Russian agents as they arrived at Schipol Airport. The cyber-experts, who were accompanied by two operational support operatives, travelled on diplomatic passports with consecutive numbers under the names Aleksei Morenets and Evgenii Serebriakov.

They hired a Citroen car and were picked up by the Dutch authorities with all the equipment in the boot.

A senior British security official said: “For the GRU to get caught in this way would be considered a pretty bad day”.

Updated

May and Dutch PM condemn Russia's 'disregard for global values'

Theresa May and her Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, have issued this statement about the revelations about the GRU’s attempted cyber-attack against the OPCW. They said:

We have, with the operations exposed today, further shone a light on the unacceptable cyber activities of the Russian military intelligence service, the GRU. It has targeted institutions across the world, including the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague.

This attempt to access the secure systems of an international organisation working to rid the world of chemical weapons, demonstrates the GRU’s disregard for the global values and rules that keep us all safe.

The GRU’s reckless operations stretch from destructive cyber activity to the use of illegal nerve agents, as we saw in Salisbury. That attack left four people fighting for their lives and one woman dead.

Our action today reinforces the clear message from the international community. We will uphold the rules-based international system, and defend international institutions from those that seek to do them harm.

Here is Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative chair of the Commons foreign affairs committee, and a former military intelligence officer, has posted this on Twitter.

The BBC’s security correspondent, Gordon Corera, has been at the briefing in the Netherlands. He has posted some of the main revelations on Twitter.

Here are the passport pictures Corera is talking about.

The Russians identified as GRU officers by the Dutch
The Russians identified as GRU officers by the Dutch Photograph: Dutch police

Updated

At a press conference in The Hague, the British ambassador to the Netherlands, Peter Wilson, said:

The disruption of this attempted attack on the OPCW was down to the expertise and the professionalism of the Dutch security services in partnership with the United Kingdom.

The OPCW is a respected international organisation which is working to rid the world of chemical weapons.

Hostile action against it demonstrates complete disregard for this vital mission.

Peter Wilson
Peter Wilson Photograph: Sky News

Here is a picture of the four Russians apprehended by the Dutch authorities.

The four Russians identified as GRU officers by the Dutch
The four Russians identified as GRU officers by the Dutch Photograph: Dutch police

Updated

The Press Association has more on the Dutch revelations.

The team of four GRU officers travelling on official Russian passports entered the Netherlands on April 10.

On April 13 they parked a car carrying specialist hacking equipment outside the headquarters of the OPCW in the The Hague.

At that point the Dutch counter-terrorism officers intervened to disrupt the operation and the four GRU officers were ordered to leave the country.

The “close access” hacking attempt, just a month after the Salisbury nerve agent attack, followed an earlier failed “spearfishing attack” on the OPCW headquarters.

UK will not be 'backward leaning' in responding to Russian cyber aggression, says Williamson

Gavin Williamson, the defence secretary, has said the UK will not be “backward leaning” in responding to Russian cyber aggression. Speaking at a Nato summit in Brussels, he said:

What we are seeing is that Russia is quite willing to use such weapons such as cyber attacks against these organisations, and here at Nato we stand shoulder to shoulder with our allies in unity against such actions.

What we have made clear is that we are not going to be backward leaning. We are going to actually make it clear where Russia acts that we are going to be exposing that action.

And we believe that by doing so this will act as a disincentive for acting in such a way in the future.

Netherlands 'halted Russian cyber-attack on chemical weapons body'

Dutch military intelligence disrupted a Russian cyber-attack on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the country’s defence minister has said. Here is my colleague Pippa Crerar’s story.

Updated

We’re just getting reports that Dutch and British intelligence foiled a Russian cyber attack on the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the organisation investigating the novichok poisonings in Salisbury.

The European parliament’s steering group on Brexit, which represents most of the main groups in the parliament, has issued a statement calling for the talks to “intensify”. It says:

Now that the [Conservative party] conference is over, it is imperative, given the very short deadlines, that negotiations intensify in order to finalise the withdrawal agreement including a legally binding, workable and operational backstop for the Ireland/Northern Ireland border in line with the joint report of last December.

Without such a backstop, the European parliament would not be in a position to give its consent to the withdrawal agreement.

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief negotiator, has taken the prime minister’s failure to name-check Chequers in her conference speech as a sign that she may be ready to dump the plan and get realistic, according to sources in Brussels, my colleague Daniel Boffey reports.

Campaigners have gathered outside the High Court ahead of a legal battle against controversial plans to expand Heathrow Airport. As the Press Association reports, councils and environmental charities are challenging the UK government’s decision to approve the building of a third runway. A crowd of about 50 protesters gathered outside the court in London on Thursday to hear speeches from prominent opponents of the expansion including shadow chancellor John McDonnell and Green party co-leader Jonathan Bartley.

McDonnell, whose Hayes and Harlington constituency is one of those affected by the plans, said up to 4,000 homes could be damaged or lost if the third runway goes ahead. He said:

It isn’t just our homes, it isn’t just our community, this is our planet itself.

This will be such a retrograde step in the campaign that we have to ensure climate change is halted.

This will undermine any credibility of any government to in any way say they are tackling climate change.

Yes, we are opposed to it because we are losing are homes but we’re also opposed to it because of the threat to the planet itself.

John McDonnell speaks outside the Royal Courts of Justice as legal action over plans to expand Heathrow is launched.
John McDonnell speaks outside the Royal Courts of Justice as legal action over plans to expand Heathrow is launched. Photograph: Kirsty O'Connor/PA

Katya Adler, the BBC’s Europe editor, has a useful Twitter thread about Leo Varadkar’s meetings in Brussels today on Brexit. It starts here.

DUP would prefer no deal Brexit to 'border down Irish Sea', says Dodds

Last night Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s deputy leader, was interviewed on ITV’s Peston. He said the DUP would rather have a no deal Brexit than agree to any plan that could involve “a border down the Irish Sea”. He told the programme:

No deal is better than a bad deal. A catastrophic deal for us would be a border down the Irish Sea, which over a period of time could lead to a continuing divergence between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. That’s catastrophic in economic terms for our economy, never mind the constitutional and political implications of all of that.

The DUP’s stance on this is highly significant because there is increasing speculation that the new plan for the Irish backstop that the UK government is due to announce (the fallback plan to ensure no hard border in Ireland after Brexit, if the main Brexit deal does not achieve this), will involve Northern Ireland staying in closer regulatory alignment to the EU than Britain, potentially meaning goods going from Britain to Northern Ireland have to undergo regulatory checks. David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, refused to deny this yesterday.

Nigel Dodds
Nigel Dodds Photograph: Tom Nicholson/REX/Shutterstock

No deal Brexit could cause a recession, says RBS boss

With her party conference over, Theresa May now faces the challenge of trying to agree the outline of a Brexit deal with the EU before the “moment of truth” October summit taking place a fortnight today. That is not the ultimate deadline for a deal, but Donald Tusk, the European council president, has said he will not schedule a final summit in November to wrap up the deal unless there is enough progress by Thursday 18 October to make him think an agreement can be reached.

Here is the timetable for the next few weeks.

This morning we’ve had another reminder of what’s at stake with the chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland warning that a no deal Brexit could lead to recession. Ross McEwan told the BBC:

We are assuming 1-1.5% growth for next year but if we get a bad Brexit then that could be zero or negative and that would affect our profitability and our share price ...

Big businesses are pausing, they are saying that in six months time I’ll have another look at the UK and I might come back, but if it’s really bad I’ll invest elsewhere - that’s the reality of where we are today.

Here is the agenda for the day.

9am: John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor and MP for Hayes and Harlington in West London, speaks at a rally supporting a legal action against plans to expand Heathrow.

10.30am: Unions representing more than 200,000 civil servants begin legal action against the government over its cap on pay rises.

1.30pm: Donald Tusk, president of the European council, and Leo Varadkar, the Irish prime minister, are due to talk to reporters following their talks in Brussels focusing on Brexit. Varadkar is also meeting Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator.

As usual, I will also be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web. But I’m afraid I have a meeting this afternoon, so I will need to wrap up the blog at around 2.30pm.

Here is the Politico Europe round-up 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 BTL but normally I find it 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 direct questions, although sometimes I miss them or don’t have time.

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

Updated

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