Afternoon summary
- Dominic Raab, the new Brexit secretary, has signalled that the government will toughen its stance on the Brexit “divorce bill”, and that it wants the right to withhold some of the £39bn owed if the EU stalls on trade talks after March next year. The commitment to hand over the money will be in the withdrawal agreement that the UK must sign before Brexit, and previously the government accepted that, having signed the deal, it would have to pay over the money regardless of what happened subsequently. The EU, which says the £39bn is not a payment for a good trade deal but just money the UK owes the EU anyway, is likely to resist. (See 1.57pm and 2.57pm). Raab made the proposal as he made a statement to MPs about the government’s Brexit white paper, which says the government wants businesses to be able to move “their talented people” from the UK to the EU – and vice versa – after Brexit. Reaction to the white paper in the Commons from Conservative MPs was largely negative, and Brexiters were particularly critical of a proposal that they said would effectively keep the UK under the control of the European court of justice in relation to many regulations. (See 4.08pm and 4.40pm.) In the Lords, Lord Bridges, a former Brexit minister, said the government should be more “honest” about this and admit that there would be an ongoing role for the ECJ. (See 5.02pm.)
- Donald Trump has claimed victory at the Nato summit, saying progress had been made on defence spending only hours after throwing the Brussels meeting intodisarray with fresh attacks on European allies. But, as Ewen MacAskill reports, other delegations and Nato officials contradicted Trump, saying he had secured no significant concessions and their defence spending plans remained basically the same as they had been before the summit.
That’s all from me for today.
Thanks for the comments.
Updated
Irish deputy PM says EU should engage with white paper, not 'try to undermine it'
The EU will take Theresa May’s proposals seriously and will work to get both sides to the negotiating table on Monday, the Irish deputy prime minister has said. Simon Coveney said:
What you will see from the EU now is a ‘take them seriously on this new position’ and a desire to get the negotiating teams into a room from next Monday afterwards.
I don’t think we should go through the white paper and try to undermine it and find inconsistencies in it.
The process would now be possible for the negotiators to get on with finding a deal, he said.
We think that now the clear negotiation position is the first time in six months there is clarity coming from the British government.
That new direction has been a step in the right direction towards a pragmatic, sensible Brexit that allow EU and the UK to trade in a way that works for everyone as opposed to a policy driven by ideology.
Former Brexit minister urges government to be more 'honest' about ongoing role of ECJ
In the House of Lords, where peers also had a statement on the Brexit white paper, Lord Bridges, who was a Brexit minister until he resigned after the general election, said the government should be more honest about the fact that the European court of justice would “continue to have a role in the laws and regulations of this country in terms of their interpretation” under the plans. (See 4.08pm and 4.40pm.) He said:
I urge the minister to be honest about that fact so that we can go forward together united clear as a country about the direction we are going in.
Responding, Lord Callanan, the Brexit minister said what was proposed was “far from the over-reaching impact the ECJ has at the moment”.
UK joint bottom of EU growth league, says European commission
Britain’s economy will be among the slowest growing in the EU this year and is “particularly exposed” to the escalating US trade war, the European commission has warned, the Press Association reports. The commission is forecasting “modest” UK gross domestic product (GDP) of 1.3% in 2018, with growth remaining weak in 2019 at 1.2%, but warned the risks were “to the downside”. Its latest predictions place the UK at the bottom of the GDP league across the 28-nation bloc, alongside Italy.
Farage says May will 'pretty much destroy Conservative party' if she remains PM
Nigel Farage has been in parliament today – not, obviously, as an MP, or even as a newly-created peer-made-prime minister to deliver Brexit, the slightly eccentric suggestion made this week by the Times columnist Melanie Philips.
Farage was a guest speaker at an event held by the rightwing Bow Group thinktank to welcome Donald Trump, who won’t himself get within a few miles of parliament while he’s in the UK.
The former Ukip leader-turned US TV pundit is, as you might expect, not too impressed with the Chequers Brexit plan, and predicted politicians did not understand how it would not be seen as credible. He said:
I think they just still don’t get it. They don’t understand the motivation and the reasons that people voted for Brexit. They grossly underestimate just how reviled that Chequers agreement is … British elected politics has not yet caught up with where the country is. But it will at some point in time. My own view is that if Mrs May stays as prime minister she will pretty much destroy the Conservative party.
Elsewhere, Farage showed how his tenure on Fox News and links with US conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones of Infowars have perhaps coloured his own view. He hinted that the mugging of former UK ambassador to Washington Sir Christopher Meyer could have been carried out by anti-Trump forces - even though the police do not believe this. Farage said: “The police said that they suspect it is a robbery, but nothing was stolen. So we’ll find out in time what the true motives were.”
Updated
President Trump is said to have given a “positive” and “complimentary” speech about England as he addressed US Embassy workers within hours of his arrival in the UK. As the Press Association reports, Trump was helicoptered to Winfield House in Regent’s Park on Thursday afternoon on Marine One, having arrived at Stansted Airport on Air Force One from Brussels earlier in the afternoon. Most people, a number of whom said they worked at the embassy in London, were tight-lipped as they left a secured area in the park near the US ambassador’s residence, where Trump and his wife Melania will stay overnight. But one woman said Mr Trump had given a “short speech” which she described as “lovely”. Another man, who did not wish to give his name, said: “It was very complimentary to England and to the allies that we have, very positive.”
Earlier I mentioned the paragraph in the white paper about the the European court of justice that particularly alarms Brexiters. (See 4.08pm.) Here is an extract from an analysis of the proposals from Martin Howe QC, a pro-Brexit specialist in EU law. It is being circulated amongst Brexiter Tories. Howe says:
This procedure would allow the commission to take the UK to the ECJ in any case where the UK authorities or the UK courts were to adopt an interpretation of UK law in EU-matching areas differing from that favoured by the commission. The commission would raise a dispute, and unless the UK were to give in in the joint committee, the matter would be referred to arbitration. Where the substance of the dispute was about the interpretation of the EU law which the UK was supposed to match, the arbitration panel would simply act as a post box, sending the question in dispute off to Luxembourg for decision.
While it appears that direct references from UK courts to Luxembourg would end, this procedure matches by a slightly different route the current procedure where the Commission can take a direct action against the UK as a member state for failing to apply or interpret EU law correctly.
The claim in the final sentence of para 42 [see 4.08pm] that this procedure “would respect the principle that the court of one party cannot resolve disputes between the two” is therefore clearly wrong and it is quite absurd to make this claim. In cases where the dispute is about the interpretation of the EU rules that we must follow, the arbitration panel would merely act as a postbox and the decision of substance would be taken by the court of one party, the ECJ. The panel would then just pronounce a formal judgment in accordance with the ECJ ruling.
Business leaders have said the Brexit white paper put “vital meat on the bones” of the Chequers plan but have said there are key gaps on VAT and details customs arrangements.
They have also said it is now critical that the EU engages with plan and takes Theresa May’s efforts to find unity seriously.
“It is a make or break summer,” said the CBI director general Carolyn Fairbairn. “It is a race against time.”
The CBI welcomed the direction of travel and said the “white paper reflects much of the evidence that business has been highlighting.”
It said the common rule book would go “a long way” to achieving the “frictionless trade” they need to protect business and jobs but stressed the ball was now in the EU’s court.
“It is now the EU’s turn to put economics before ideology on these proposals,” said Fairbairn. She went on:
With three months left to go, it is now a race against time. The EU must now engage constructively and flexibly, as must politicians from all UK parties. This is a matter of national interest. There’s not a day to lose.
The Institute of Directors director general Stephen Martin said the details on the customs and trade proposals would narrow the scope EU negotiators had to claim they could not push ahead because there was no plan from the UK.
But he said the “government has missed a trick by holding back on detail in several areas” calling for more clarity on VAT arrangements.
It also criticised the government for not detailing the dispute resolution system that would operate for business when outside the ECJ’s purview.
Henry Newman, director of the Open Europe thinktank, says the white paper suggests Theresa May is now effectively seeking associate membership of the EU, even though she ruled this out in her Lancaster House speech in January 2017.
At Lancaster House @theresa_may ruled out associate membership of EU. Now in white paper she's seeking an association agreement. Compare and contrast 🤔. Think it's time for a speech explaining why and what's changed https://t.co/F1Jz8yIIjz pic.twitter.com/TTSFUKJjYy
— Henry Newman (@HenryNewman) July 12, 2018
Brexiters are particularly angry about one passage in the white paper from the European court of justice. It’s paragraph 42 on page 93.
Where the UK and the EU had agreed to retain a common rulebook, it is possible that a dispute could relate to whether these rules had been interpreted correctly. The UK recognises that only the CJEU can bind the EU on the interpretation of EU law, and therefore in these instances, there should be the option for a referral to the CJEU for an interpretation, either by mutual consent from the Joint Committee, or from the arbitration panel. The CJEU would only have a role in relation to the interpretation of those EU rules to which the UK had agreed to adhere as a matter of international law. The Joint Committee or arbitration panel would have to resolve the dispute in a way that was consistent with this interpretation. This would respect the principle that the court of one party cannot resolve disputes between the two.
Commenting on it, this is from Hugh Bennett, deputy editor of the pro-Brexit website BrexitCentral.
Martin Howe QC @lawyers4britain warns that this section of the UK's dispute resolution proposals in the White Paper would effectively give the ECJ binding jurisdiction over the UK, in essentially the same way as the EU-Moldova Association Agreement does at present pic.twitter.com/nrhX6XwLBs
— Hugh Bennett (@HughRBennett) July 12, 2018
This is from Stewart Jackson, the former Tory MP who was David Davis’s chief of staff until Davis resigned at the weekend.
This is not in any sense maintaining the red line on ECJ direct jurisdiction as the PM well knows. https://t.co/AISYuVFBd7
— Stewart Jackson (@BrexitStewart) July 12, 2018
And these are from the lawyer and legal commentator Carl Gardner.
This, on UK courts "paying due regard" to the ECJ, has a smaller scope than EU law (because only applying to the "common rule book") but has I think *exactly the same legal effect* as section 3(1) of the ECA 1972. Relevant ECJ case law will be followed *exactly* as it is now. pic.twitter.com/GMn0UJ5s05
— Carl Gardner (@carlgardner) July 12, 2018
All the claims about ECJ rulings no longer having "direct effect" in were complete legal bullshit. They never had "direct effect" (that concept applies to legislation, not ECJ case law) but will have the same "so persuasive as to be in effect binding" effect ECJ case law has now.
— Carl Gardner (@carlgardner) July 12, 2018
Updated
This is from ITV’s political editor Robert Peston.
Today’s reaction from well-placed Brussels official to central element of @theresa_may’s Brexit white paper is as forcefully critical as that of @Jacob_Rees_Mogg and the True Brexiters. pic.twitter.com/NRdSxx1FPG
— Robert Peston (@Peston) July 12, 2018
Leave Means Leave, a group pushing for a hard Brexit, has put out a statement condemning the white paper. Here is an extract.
The prime minister has completely ignored the concerns raised over the Chequers ‘deal’ last week.
Resignation after resignation, humiliating polls and a damning public indictment yet Theresa May has not listened.
This White Paper is a complete capitulation and our government has become a national embarrassment.
The EU is in an extremely strong negotiating position and we will end up, quite unbelievably, with an even worse deal than that set out in this white paper.
David Henig, a trade expert and director of the UK Trade Policy Project, has posted a long and detailed thread on Twitter about the white paper. He is distinctly unimpressed, describing bits of it variously as “nonsense”, “ultimate cakeism” and “spectacularly bad”. His thread starts here.
Ok, here we go with the White Paper thread. Overall impression, kid in the first year of senior school applying to join the sixth form. Trying to understand what that means and not really succeeding. 1/ https://t.co/1MMBKns16n
— David Henig (@DavidHenigUK) July 12, 2018
The government’s Brexit white paper offers no new proposals on the Irish border and does not address Michel Barnier’s request last month for an “all weather” backstop which would be a legally binding guarantee of no hard border for decades to come.
The Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar said this was still a red line for the EU when he reacted to the Chequers deal on Sunday.
Today’s white paper reiterates the British position that the partnership proposed would be enough assuage Irish fears. It says:
Such a partnership would see the UK and the EU meet their commitments to Northern Ireland and Ireland through the overall future relationship: preserving the constitutional and economic integrity of the UK; honouring the letter and the spirit of the Belfast (‘Good Friday’) Agreement; and ensuring that the operational legal text the UK will agree with the EU on the ‘backstop’ solution as part of the Withdrawal Agreement will not have to be used.
Paragraph 35 states there would be no need for sanitary and phyto-sanitary checks on animals, plants and agri-food on the border because:
The UK and the EU have set the global standard for the protection of human, animal and plant health, and both have set an ambition to maintain high standards in the future ... This would remove the need to undertake additional regulatory checks at the border – avoiding the need for any physical infrastructure, such as Border Inspection Posts, at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland.
Talking about EU reaction to the white paper, this is from Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator.
We will now analyse the #Brexit White Paper w/ Member States & EP, in light of #EUCO guidelines. EU offer = ambitious FTA + effective cooperation on wide range of issues, including a strong security partnership. Looking forward to negotiations with the #UK next week.
— Michel Barnier (@MichelBarnier) July 12, 2018
This is from Peter Ptassek, Germany’s Brexit coordinator.
Welcome #UK #Brexit White Paper. EU27 will now assess it against its #EUCO principles - such as integrity of the Single Market, indivisibility of the four freedoms, and autonomy of EU decision-making. Next stop: #GAC on July 20. Intensive weeks ahead.
— Peter Ptassek (@GermanyonBrexit) July 12, 2018
And this is from Guy Verhofstadt, the European parliament’s lead Brexit spokesman.
Welcome UK proposal for a future Association Agreement, as proposed by @Europarl_EN. We will analyse White Paper in light of our priorities: #CitizensRights, an operational backstop for Ireland & a deep economic relationship based on the integrity of the Union & internal market. pic.twitter.com/VcaWKWD50t
— Guy Verhofstadt (@guyverhofstadt) July 12, 2018
Academics researching all aspects of Brexit as part of the UK in a Changing Europe project have said the white paper marks a “pinking” of the red lines but much work remains to be done. Anand Menon, director of the group, predicts that more compromise will be needed to satisfy the EU. He says:
The white paper represents a slight pinking of the UK’s red lines to ensure the absence of a border on the island of Ireland - a welcome recognition of the urgency of that particular problem. But it is far from being a solution to the Irish question or the issue of the broader trading relationship.
Whilst I would hope the EU welcomes this evolution in the British position, it is difficult to envisage the plan being accepted without further clarification and most probably further evolution on the British side.
The Scottish government, which wants the UK to stay in the single market and customs union as a minimum, says the UK goverment’s Brexit white paper offers “little reassurance”. In a statement Fiona Hyslop, the culture, tourism and external affairs secretary, says:
This paper, published more than two years after the Brexit referendum and only a few months from the end of the negotiating period, offers little reassurance for those worried about the impact that leaving the EU will have on our economy. Quite simply, these plans fall short and will harm our economy.
As with the Chequers agreement, there is some evidence that the UK government now realises the damage of leaving the EU, as well as the benefits that being in the EU, the single market and custom union has brought to the whole of the UK. Nevertheless, there is still a long way to go before those risks are mitigated.
Raab toughens stance on Brexit 'divorce bill', says UK may not pay £39bn if trade talks stall
This is what Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, said about how the UK could withhold money from the EU if it stalls the trade talks after March 2019. The Tory MP Peter Bottomley asked Raab about what measures there would be to ensure the EU carried through what it had promised. In response, Raab indicated that the UK could withhold its final financial settlement, estimated at £39bn. He said:
We’ve made it very clear that there’s no deal until we’ve got the whole deal done, and that means that in relation to the sequential nature of these negotiations that there is going to be a link between the two.
If we found, having agreed the withdrawal agreement, that the progress towards the future trade and special partnership arrangement was not proceeding apace, then it would have consequences for the rights and the obligations that the UK has undertaken, including in respect to the financial obligations that we undertake.
As mentioned earlier (see 1.57pm), this marks a toughening of the government’s position.
Updated
Dominic Raab’s Commons statement is now over. Almost all the reaction from Conservative MPs was either sceptical, or downright hostile.
I will post more reaction to the white paper, with analysis of what it is saying, as the afternoon goes on.
Here is my colleague Patrick Wintour and Peter Walker’s story about President Trump’s arrival in the UK.
Trump arrives in UK
President Trump has arrived in the UK.
President Trump arrives at London Stansted Airport aboard Air Force One. pic.twitter.com/aXJVMrz9TS
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) July 12, 2018
Labour’s Chris Matheson says paragraph 76 of the white paper the government says it wants to ensure that talented workers can still come to the UK from the EU. Does “talented” include nurses?
Raab says the intention is to ensure “high skilled” people can still come to the UK. That will cover all sectors, he says. He says it would be wrong for the UK to cut itself off from the skills it needs.
Owen Paterson, the Conservative Brexiter and former cabinet minister, says he is unhappy with the reply he got from Raab when he asked about EU law.
My question to @DominicRaab on how much EU law will have to be reapplied under the Government's current proposal and whether it can ever be amended. Answer came there none. @LeaveMnsLeave @Econs4FreeTrade pic.twitter.com/MvpyBzmtJN
— Owen Paterson MP (@OwenPaterson) July 12, 2018
Labour’s Wayne David asks if the government will be willing to pay for access to the single market.
Raab says the government has said that, if it wants to participate in some agencies, it will pay its way. He does not address the free trade point.
Raab suggests UK will stop its £39bn payment to EU if Brussels stalls on trade talks after Brexit
Raab says, if the government found that, having agreed the withdrawal agreement, progress towards a trade deal slowed down, there would be consequences, including to UK’s payments to the EU.
- Raab suggests UK will stop its £39bn payment to the EU if Brussels stalls on trade talks after Brexit.
This is new. At a committee hearing earlier this year, Suella Braverman, the junior Brexit minister, said the £39bn payment was unconditional; there was nothing in the withdrawal agreement that would guarantee a good trade deal would have to follow, she conceded. (She had a wretched time being questioned about this; you can find some of the exchanges here.)
In a recent report on the Brexit negotiations, the Commons Brexit committee highlighted this issue. It said:
A legally binding agreement on the UK’s future relationship can only be agreed once the UK is a third country. If the UK government wishes to make the payment of the financial settlement conditional on reaching a binding agreement on the future relationship, it would need to secure the agreement of the EU27 to inserting text to this effect in the withdrawal agreement. We note that the government has not yet secured a clause in the withdrawal agreement linking the financial settlement to the satisfactory conclusion of negotiations on the framework for the future relationship. We call on the government to confirm whether the inclusion of such a clause is one of its negotiating objectives.
The EU will probably fight this proposal strongly. Their argument is that the “exit payment” covers financial commitments already made by the UK, and that it is not a payment for a good trade deal.
Updated
Roger Gale, a Conservative, asks for an assurance that there is nothing in the white paper that would block the government’s plans to beef up animal welfare standards. Raab says the government has carefully tried to ensure that is the case.
Yvette Cooper, the Labour chair of the home affairs committee, says there are only 20 paragraphs on immigration in the white paper. What would happen if the NHS needed to carry on recruiting from abroad.
Raab says he thinks the white paper is clear. Free movement will end. What will happen to the visa rules will be a matter for negotiation.
Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative, asks if the government will publish a document showing what the consequences of a no deal would be.
Raab says the government has tough choices to make. He will give MPs more details about no deal planning in due course.
Labour’s Chris Bryant says there is no majority in the Commons for this plan.
Raab says MPs stood on manifestoes saying they would leave the EU. You cannot leave the EU and remain in the single market or the customs union, he says.
John Baron, a Conservative, asks what percentage of British goods will be subject to the common rulebook. And will the UK be able to ban the export of live animals under this plan?
Raab says 96 of goods exported should not be affected by the plan.
He does not address the question about the export of live animals.
John Bercow, the speaker, intervenes to say that it is not acceptable for members of the media to see a document before MPs see it.
Sir Bill Cash, the Tory Brexiter, told MPs he was “deeply worried” about the government’s plans.
Rees-Mogg says white paper will recreate 'worst aspects of EU British people voted to leave'
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Conservative MP who chairs the pro-Brexit European Research Group, has described the white paper as “the greatest vassalage since King John paid homage to Phillip II at Le Goulet in 1200”. In a statement he said:
This white paper has not needed age to turn yellow. There are very few signs of the prime minister’s famous red lines. It is a pale imitation of the paper prepared by David Davis, a bad deal for Britain. It is not be something I would vote for nor is it what the British people voted for
In particular, this paper sets out that the UK will be subject to EU laws while having no say in their creation.
The common rulebook will not be common it will be EU law, interpreted by the EU Court with the UK subjected to EU fines for non-compliance.
The UK has accepted it cannot diverge from ‘ongoing harmonisation’ without activating repercussions for Northern Ireland. In effect, parliament will have no say over future EU laws implemented in the UK.
The UK has accepted that it will collect and hand over EU taxes. This is an unwarranted intrusion into the control of our border. The absence of reciprocity is concerning and the cost to the taxpayer unknown.
Taken as a whole, this recreates many of the worst aspects of the EU the British people voted to leave. This does not respect the referendum result.
Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative Brexiter, says he has “deep misgivings” about what the government is planning.
Raab is responding to Starmer.
He apologises for the problems with the release of the white paper.
He says, like Starmer, he is a recovering lawyer. They both voted to trigger article 50.
He says Starmer spoke about unity. He says people in glass houses should not throw stones. He says Jeremy Corbyn has had 103 frontbench resignations.
In response to Starmer’s question about whether the white paper is a starting point or an end point, he says it is a negotiation.
On free movement, Raab says the white paper is clear. Free movement will end.
He says, if Labour is willing to consider keeping free movement, that would contradict what it promised at the election.
Starmer says two white papers are being published today - the government’s one, and the alternative one, drafted by David Davis, who resigned as Brexit secretary on Sunday. Davis’s one is being published by the ConservativeHome website.
Starmer says government's handling of white paper has been 'utter shambles'
Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, is responding now. He says Dominic Raab has not got off to a good start. He says the short suspension of the Commons this morning was “an utter shambles”. Journalists were shown the white paper at 9am, he says. But he says the Labour front bench did not get it until 11.45am. And he says he was not handed the text of Raab’s statement until the end of business questions. The ministerial code says the opposition should get these statements 45 minutes in advance, he says.
Here is the full text of the white paper (pdf). It runs to 104 pages.
Raab says the UK will not pay money to the EU for nothing.
Referring to the commitment to pay £39bn to the EU, he says nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.
He says is one side fails to honour its side of the bargain, there will be consequences for the whole deal.
The sitting has resumed.
But Sarah Wollaston, the Conservative pro-European, asks John Bercow to suspend the sitting MPs so MPs have time to read the white paper.
Bercow refuses. He says some MPs would be strongly opposed to the idea.
Commons suspended amid row about availability of Brexit white paper
Bercow suspends the sitting for five minutes to allow MPs to get copies of the white paper.
This is highly unusual. It is just a procedural matter, but the fact it came to this shows how strongly some MPs feel about this matter.
Updated
MPs protest as Raab starts statement before white paper available to parliamentarians
Raab is getting a lot of disruption as he makes his opening statement. John Bercow, the speaker, says MPs are unhappy because they have not been able to read the white paper. Bercow asks Raab to indicate that he is happy for the Commons authorities to release it now.
Raab says it will be made available when possible.
Bercow asks Raab to say that MPs should be able to see it now.
Raab says, of course he is. He says it is already on the website.
Bercow says, as the document is in the vote office (the Commons office which hands out official documents) but has not been released, he would like to know if Raab is happy for it to be released now.
Raab says they can release it.
Dominic Raab's statement on Brexit white paper
Dominic Raab, the Brexit secretary, is making his Commons statement now about the Brexit white paper.
Here is my colleague Dan Sabbagh’s story about the white paper. (Journalists were shown a copy this morning under embargo.)
And here is how it starts.
Businesses should be able to move “their talented people” from the UK to the European Union – and vice versa – after Brexit, according to the government’s much anticipated strategy white paper.
The document, published on Thursday, also says the government is prepared to allow EU citizens to travel freely without a visa in the UK for tourism and temporary work and allow EU students to study in the UK.
Although the white paper is emphatic that there will be an end to the free movement of people at the end of the transition period in December 2020, the document says it will be necessary to recognise the “depth of the relationship and close ties between the peoples of the UK and the EU”.
Hard Brexiters had voiced concern that despite the headline commitment to end free movement, EU citizens would still have preferential access to the UK compared with other countries, although Whitehall sources have indicated that it would be theoretically possible for other countries to strike similar deals in the future.
On movement for workers after Brexit, the document says “the UK’s future economic partnership should therefore provide reciprocal arrangements, consistent with the ending of free movement”, including measures that “support businesses to provide services and to move their talented people”.
There was little further detail on how migration arrangements could work after Brexit, however, although a white paper has been promised in the autumn. Officials have indicated that the notional cap on net migration at 100,000 a year will remain after the UK departs.
What Trump said about Nato at his press conference
And this is what Donald Trump said at his press conference about Nato
-
Trump claimed that Nato countries had agreed to increase defence spending by $33bn because of the pressure he had put on them at the summit. He said:
I told people that I would be very unhappy if they didn’t up their commitments ... I let them know that I was extremely unhappy.
Trump said that for a while the talks were “a little tough” but that ultimately Nato leaders were grateful for his stance.
Yes, it was a little tough for a little while. But ultimately you can ask anybody at that meeting; they are really liking what happened over the last two years. There’s a great, great spirit living that room.
Nato countries were already due to increase defence spending, but Trump claimed they had agreed to accelerate the rate at which defence spending was increase. He said:
The numbers have gone up like a rocket ship ... and they’re going to be going up further.
And he claimed that Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, gave Trump full credit for the decision to increase defence spending.
Secretary Stoltenberg gives us total credit, meaning me, I guess, in this case, total credit. Because I said it was unfair.
- He said that Nato was now “much stronger” because of the spending agreement.
Updated
Trump suggests May's Brexit plan is not what people voted for
Here are the main points from the Trump press conference relating directly to the UK and Brexit.
- Trump suggested that Theresa May’s latest Brexit plan is not what people voted for. Asked if he had a message for the UK on Brexit, he said it was not for him to say. But he also said:
I’ve been reading a lot about Brexit over the last couple of days and it seems to be turning a little bit differently, where they’re getting at least partially involved back with the European Union ...
I would say Brexit is Brexit ... The people voted to break it up so I would imagine that’s what they would do, but maybe they’re taking a little bit of a different route - I don’t know if that is what they voted for.
He just wanted “the people to be happy”, he said.He also said he would like to see the British “work it out so it could go quickly, whatever they work out”.
- He claimed people liked him “a lot” in the UK because of his views on immigration. He said:
I think they like me a lot in the UK. I think they agree with me on immigration. I’m very strong on immigration.
I made a point today. I said, ‘You’ve got to stop. You’re going to have a lot of problems. You see what’s going on through the world with immigration. I probably, at least partially, won an election because of immigration ...
I think that’s why Brexit happened.
Yesterday the Guardian published fresh polling showing what people in the UK do think of Trump. It shows that his assessment is wrong, and that overwhelmingly people in the UK view him negatively.
- He said that he warned EU leaders at the Nato summit that they needed to take concerns about immigration more seriously.
I told them today the EU, the European Union, better be very careful because immigration is taking over Europe and they better be very careful.
- He described the UK as a “hotspot”. He said:
I’m going to a pretty hotspot right now, with a lot of resignations.
- He insisted he was not bothered about the prospect of people protesting against him in the UK. There were always protests, he said. “I think it’s fine.”
Trump answers his final question by saying that what he wants is peace all over the world.
As he leaves, he says he will be leaving Brussels in about half an hour.
And that’s it.
I’ll post a summary soon.
Trump says the Iranians are treating the US with a lot more respect right now. At some point they will call him and offer a deal. But they are feeling “a lot of pain right now”, he says.
Q: Do you see Russia as a security threat to the US?
Trump says he does not want it to be. That is why the US is spending so much on defence.
He says he has great respect for the Chinese president, Xi Jinping. He says his two days there were among the most magical of his life.
Getting along with Russia also would be a very good thing.
Q: Will you continue to support the Peshmerga in Iraq?
Trump says the Kurds are “great people”.
Q: What do you think of Georgia joining Nato?
At a certain point in the future “they will have a chance”, he says.
Trump says a lot of progress has been made in Afghanistan.
Q: What do you say to the claim that you are helping Putin by your Nato stance?
Trump says no more nuclear weapons, and no more disease, would be his ultimate goal.
Trump says he is not sure whether UK's latest Brexit plan is what people voted for
Trump says it is not for him to say what the UK should do about Brexit.
He says the government seems to be turning back towards the EU.
Donald Trump on Brexit: "I don't know what's going on with the negotiation, who knows?" For once, he speaks for us all.
— Charlie Cooper (@CharlieCooper8) July 12, 2018
More Trump on Brexit: "it seems to be turning a little bit differently where they're getting at least partially involved with the EU"
— Charlie Cooper (@CharlieCooper8) July 12, 2018
Q: Do you want a hard Brexit?
“Heart-breaking?” Trump has misheard.
When told the question was about a hard Brexit, he says it is not for him to say. But he then echoes Theresa May, saying Brexit should mean Brexit.
Trump on the new Brexit strategy..."Maybe they're taking a different route, I don't know if that's what they voted for."
— Charlie Cooper (@CharlieCooper8) July 12, 2018
Updated
Trump says he does not know Putin well.
Trump says British people like him 'a lot' because of his views on immigration
Q: What do you feel about the protests against you that there will be in the UK?
Trump says:
I think they like me a lot in the UK.
He says people approve of his views on immigration.
- Trump says British people like him “a lot” because of his views on immigration. (Polling evidence suggests the exact opposite.)
He probably, at least partially, won an election because of his views on immigration, he says.
He says Brexit happened because of this.
He does not know what is happening in the UK with Brexit. He says he is going to “a pretty hotspot” right now [ie, the UK] “with a lot of resignations”.
He says he told EU leaders they had to be careful to take into account concerns about immigrations.
- Trump says he told EU leaders to take more account of concerns of immigration.
Updated
Trump says North Korea has done a lot since his meeting with Kim Jong-un . They have stopped playing music at the border. And there have been no missile tests, he says.
Trump plays down significance of his meeting with Putin on Monday next week
Q: Did any of your allies express concerns about your meeting with Putin? Or did they suggest messages?
Trump says they thanked him for holding the meeting and sent their best wishes.
He says it is just a loose meeting. It may not take a long time, he says. It may lead somewhere or may not, he suggests.
- Trump plays down significance of his meeting with Putin on Monday next week.
Trump says the US will help out some of the countries that need to buy more military equipement. It will help them with access to finance.
The US makes the best military equipment in the world, he says. Everyone wants to buy it because it is so good, he says.
Trump says he is 'not happy' about Russian annexation of Crimea
Q: Will you recognise Crimea as part of Russia?
Trump says President Obama allowed that to happen. The Russians then built a bridge to Crimea, and a submarine port.
He says he would not have allowed it to happen.
He says he cannot say what will happen next. But he is “not happy” about the annexation of Crimea.
- Trump says that he is “not happy” about Russia’s annexation of Crimea and that he would not have allowed it to happen had he been president at the time.
Q: What will you do if countries like Germany and Canada do not raise defence spending to 2% of GDP?
They will, says Trump. He says it will happen over a short period of years.
Q: Does Nato help protect the US from Russia?
Trump says Nato is a very strong ally.
The numbers of defence spending have “gone up like a rocket ship”, he says.
He says Stoltenberg has done a “fantastic job”.
He says he is concerned about the Nord Stream pipeline.
But maybe we will get along with the group we’re protecting against.
He says he is meeting President Putin on Monday. They will talk about Syria. He will ask the question about the media’s favourite topic, “meddling” in the US elections.
Trump says Stoltenberg has given “us, meaning me in this case” credit for getting Nato countries to spend more on defence.
Today they had a “really great meeting”, he says. He says he knows the Nato leaders from last year’s summit. At the end of today’s meeting they all agreed.
Trump says, if the EU do not offer the US a better deal on trade, the US will do something about European cars being imported at a very low tariff.
Q: Will you change your mind as soon as you are on Air Force One?
No, says Trump. He says other people do that. He says he is not like that. He is a very stable genius, he says.
Updated
Q: Are you threatening to pull the US out of Nato for any reason? And can you do that without Congress’s approval?
Trump says he thinks he can do that without Congress’s approval, but that will not be an issue, he says.
He says the Nato secretary general thanked him for his intervention.
Q: What have Nato countries agreed?
Trump says they have agreed to reach the 2% of GDP defence spending target much more quickly.
Some leaders will have to get parliamentary approval, he says. But they will get it, he says.
He says he still thinks the target should go up to 4%.
On some calculations, the US was spending 4.2%
- Trump reaffirms call for Nato defence spending target to be raised to 4% of GDP.
Q: Did you win any concessions from Germany?
He says Germany has increased its time line. (He implies that it will increase defence spending at a faster rate.)
If relations with Russia improve, the Nord Stream gas pipeline will be less of a problem.
Q: What do you say to people who say disrupting Nato helps Putin?
Trump says getting Nato countries to put up substantial sums for defence does not help Russia.
The US was carrying too much of the burden, he says. That is why they called it “burden sharing”.
Trump says he was very firm with Nato allies.
But he believes in Nato, he says.
He says Nato now is “a fine-tuned machine”.
People are paying money they did not pay before, he says.
Trump claims he has managed to get Nato countries to increase defence spending by $33bn
President Trump is speaking now.
He says all the Nato countries have agreed to up their defence spending.
He says Nato made “a tremendous amount of progress today”.
An extra $33bn has been contributed by Nato countries other than the US, he says.
He says the US commitment to Nato is “very strong”, and “remains very strong”.
He says he hopes Nato “will be able to get along with Russia”. That is what the people in the room think, he says.
He says Jens Stoltenberg, the Nato secretary general, will probably confirm the defence spending numbers in his final press conference. The final number could be over $40bn, he says.
Q: Did you threaten to leave Nato?
I told them I would be very unhappy if they did not up their commitments substantially.
Trump says he let Nato leaders yesterday he was “extremely unhappy” about what was happening.
Now Nato is “much stronger”, he says.
Updated
Here is my colleague Ewen MacAskill’s story about Trump’s Nato outburst this morning.
And here is how it starts.
Donald Trump has thrown the Nato summit into chaos by launching a fresh attack on Germany and other European countries over their defence spending.
The US president renewed his criticism of European Nato members for not spending enough on defence at a closed session on Thursday morning that had been intended to be confined to non-budgetary issues.
His outburst led to the scrapping of a series of planned press conferences and bilateral meetings as European leaders struggled to respond. Theresa May and Angela Merkel cancelled press conferences.
Trump turned up late for the morning sessions involving Nato leaders, intended to discuss the accession of Ukraine and Georgia to the alliance. When he delivered his rebuke over defence spending, the Ukrainian and Georgian leaders were asked to leave because it was a purely Nato matter.
Trump to hold unscheduled press conference after major row at Nato summit about defence spending
Donald Trump is about to hold an unscheduled press briefing at the Nato summit.
Chaotic scrambling at @NATO as #US readied press briefing pic.twitter.com/oPiB3Zq6ny
— David M. Herszenhorn (@herszenhorn) July 12, 2018
.@POTUS will hold a press conference in the large press briefing room at NATO at 12:10pm today.
— Sarah Sanders (@PressSec) July 12, 2018
Updated
During environment questions this morning Michael Gove, the environment secretary, said he would do his best to persuade Donald Trump about the threat from climate change. He was challenged on the topic by the Labour MP Rupa Huq who pointed out that, soon after Trump’s election, Gove (then a backbencher) interviewed him sympathetically for the Times. She asked Gove:
Could he use all his famous skills of tact and persuasion and that pre-existing special relationship to impress upon him that climate change is an existential threat to our planet and to reverse his disastrous decision to pull out of the Paris climate change accords?
Gove replied:
I don’t know that I have the diplomatic skills to bring the president of the United States into the same place that she and I are when it comes to fighting climate change, but believe me I’ll do my best.
And here are comments from some reporters about what is happening at the Nato summit.
From Der Spiegel’s Mathieu von Rohr
Trump throws temper tantrum in NATO summit. Wants 2% defense spending this year and 4% by 2024 – or the US will "go it alone" according to media reports. Now crisis meeting of leaders.
— Mathieu von Rohr (@mathieuvonrohr) July 12, 2018
Breaking up NATO before his meeting with Putin would seem like a nice present to his host.
From Politico Europe’s David Herszenhorn
North Atlantic Council @NATO's highest political body is now in emergency session after @realDonaldTrump threatens "grave consequences" and effective #US pull-out from alliance if allies do not immediately meet higher spending targets. @POLITICOEurope
— David M. Herszenhorn (@herszenhorn) July 12, 2018
From the Time’s Deborah Haynes
BREAK: This is from a single, good source: @realDonaldTrump told @Nato allies this morning that unless wealthiest economies (read Germany, France, Spain, Italy) hit 2% GDP target by January “we are going to do our own thing”
— Deborah Haynes (@haynesdeborah) July 12, 2018
If this is confirmed then it is extraordinary threat
This is from Reuters.
US President Trump significantly toughened his tone on NATO defence spending at a summit on Thursday, singling out Germany, Spain and Belgium in a closed-door session in Brussels, two sources said.
Breaking from a carefully-scripted session to focus on Ukraine and Georgia, Trump “forcibly restated his position on wanting NATO members to reach 2% spending target to a short a deadline,” one source said, referring to a NATO goal.
But Trump did not threaten to withdraw the US from Nato, Reuters says.
US President Donald Trump did not threaten to pull out of NATO at the second day of a summit on Thursday, despite a tough rebuke of allies for spending too little on defence, two NATO sources told Reuters.
Asked if he had issued the threat to quit the military alliance, both sources said: “No”.
More on what President Trump is up to at the Nato summit this morning.
This is from my colleague Ewen MacAskill.
Trump appears to have cancelled a series of bilateral planned for this morning with leaders of Roumania, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia on second day of Nato summit.
— Ewen MacAskill (@ewenmacaskill) July 12, 2018
And this is from AFP.
#BREAKING NATO leaders hold emergency session on Trump defence spending demands, sources say pic.twitter.com/rZXfUlGIKA
— AFP news agency (@AFP) July 12, 2018
Police officers guarding Trump being forced to sleep in worse conditions than prisoners, says Police Federation
Police securing Donald Trump’s visit to the UK are being forced to sleep in unacceptable conditions worse than cells, the organisation representing rank-and-file officers has said. As the Press Association reports, pictures show cramped lines of camp beds filling a vast gymnasium and sleeping mats on the floor of a squash court for officers to rest on between long shifts policing the US President’s trip, starting on Thursday.
The Police Federation has complained of the conditions its members are facing during the operation, which will see officers from across the country enlisted at a cost of up to £10m. Simon Kempton, the organisation’s deputy treasurer in England and Wales, said 300 officers are expected to sleep in the gymnasium with no hot water and restricted access to warm food. He said:
These officers have been asked to leave their families to travel to another part of the country to help protect the public and the president and all they expect in return is to be treated with some dignity and respect.
What’s clear is that anyone overnight who has been arrested by the police would be put in accommodation far superior to what the officers are staying in.
Kempton said officers at that site are only averaging three to four hours’ sleep ahead of 15-hour shifts because of the conditions.
This is from the Lincolnshire Police Federation.
At the National #PoliceBravery Awards today with 2 brave @lincspolice officers and their partners. Could post pics of evening spent with them in the Tower of London(Ceremony of the Keys) but subdued when seeing pics of “accommodation” for cops away on mutual aid. Disgraceful pic.twitter.com/sYWzBw6Pld
— LincsPolFed (@LincsPolFed) July 12, 2018
MailOnline has more on the police complaints.
Updated
Barnier says only staying in single market and customs union will guarantee 'frictionless trade'
Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, has been in America and yesterday he was speaking at the US Chamber of Commerce. He told his audience that he would look at the government’s white paper carefully, but that only staying in the single market and the customs union would make “frictionless trade” possible. He said:
We will look carefully at each and any proposal of UK, but these proposals must be workable.
Only the combination of the single market and the customs union makes frictionless trade possible. Outside of the customs union there need to be procedures and customs controls. And outside of the single market you necessarily have controls to check compliance with European standards.
As a consequence there will be no business as usual because of the Brexit.
And we should all get ready for all scenarios, including a no-deal scenario.
Raab plays down prospect of EU nationals getting better access to UK after Brexit than all other foreign nationals
Here are the main points from Dominic Raab’s Today interview
- Raab, the new Brexit secretary, said that even thought the UK would agree to accept EU rules on goods after Brexit under the government’s plans, it would not be a “rule-taker”. That was because the UK might have some influence over new rules, and parliament could decide to say no, he said. (See 9.15am.)
- He played down the prospect of EU nationals getting better access to the UK after Brexit than all other foreign nationals. When it was put to him that he seemed to be saying that EU nationals would get no preferential treatment, he denied this, saying: “The precise nature of what we agree on will be subject to negotiation.” This is the line that Theresa May took in an interview at the weekend, when she said the government had yet to decide whether EU nationals would get special rights. But Raab suggested that the EU nationals would not have a special status that would give them better access to the UK than people from other countries with trade deals with the UK. He said:
We are ending free movement ... When we have global free trade deals, we want to make sure we deal with things like visas as part of that. But there won’t be this discrimination that you’ve had at the moment - and I say this as someone who’s got a Brazilian wife - where in terms of the volume or the criteria or the approach, EU nationals are treated in a totally different way to those from around the world. And, critically, we will have, parliament will have, control over our immigration rules ...
The key is that, when we engage in free trade arrangements, as every other country does, you look at the visa arrangements because there is an aspect of that that enhances your trade. But that’s not the same as people just coming to live here and having the freedom to do so under the current EU free movement rules.
Raab’s line is similar to the one adopted by Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons and a fellow Vote Leave campaigner, in an interview on Monday. Raab and Leadsom seems to be opposed to EU nationals having an immigration status that would give them advantages over immigrant workers from countries like India or Brazil. But May seems to be holding open the option of ensuring EU nationals do get priority over everyone else.
- He refused to say whether the plans set out in the white paper would amount to an opening offer or red lines on which the government would not compromise. “I don’t really want to get into all of that,” he said when asked about this. He said it would not be right to discuss the government’s negotiating strategy in public.
- He accepted that May was in overall charge of the Brexit negotiations. “The prime minister is in charge of the negotiations,” he said, when asked about claim that his predecessor, David Davis, felt marginalised in the Brexit talks.
- He said that he would visiting Brussels to meeting Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, next week. He would also speak to Barnier today, he said.
Jeremy Hunt is attending the Nato summit in Brussels today in his new role as foreign secretary. Speaking to reporters, he urged the EU to show more flexibility in the Brexit talks. He said:
What we say to the European Union is we’re not the only ones who can’t do the cherry-picking. If they want a deep and special partnership with Britain going forward, then we have to look at our relationship as a whole.
We are saying that we will defend Europe unconditionally - that is the big commitment that Theresa May has made. We need to find a way forward that works for both sides.
Photograph: Olivier Hoslet/EPA
At the Nato summit in Brussels President Trump turned up late to the first meeting of the day, CNN’s Jeremy Diamond reports.
Trump just strolled in to his first NATO meeting of the day -- a North Atlantic Council meeting with Georgia & Ukrane -- about a half-hour late. Trump similarly made a mark at G7 when he showed up late for breakfast on women's empowerment
— Jeremy Diamond (@JDiamond1) July 12, 2018
There are two urgent questions in the Commons this morning. That is what the Dominic Raab statement on the Brexit white paper won’t start until after 12.30pm.
Two UQs granted from 1030: 1. @DavidLammy to ask @sajidjavid to make a statement on his decision to pause the hostile environment, which was reported last night in the media. 2. @LouHaigh to ask @sajidjavid to make a statement on policing during the visit of President Trump
— Labour Whips (@labourwhips) July 12, 2018
Brexit white paper plan won't leave UK a 'rule-taker', Dominic Raab claims
Around lunchtime, shortly before Donald Trump arrives in the UK with the potential to obliterate all other news, the government will publish its long-awaited Brexit white paper, setting out its proposals for the UK’s relationship with the EU after it has left. A three-page document (pdf) released late on Friday night set out in summary what Theresa May is suggesting. “The document will be long and largely very dull — but politically its importance can not be overstated,” Jack Blanchard writes in his London Playbook briefing for Politico Europe. “Rarely has a government white paper caused this much strife, triggering the resignations of two of the most senior members of the cabinet plus other prominent Tories to boot.”
Dominic Raab, the new Brexit secretary, will present it in a statement to MPs. He was on the Today programme this morning and he insisted that, although the government is proposing that the UK maintains a “common rulebook” with the EU on goods (a clever piece of spin - the “common rulebook” will actually be the EU’s rulebook), that did not mean Britain would end up a “rule-taker”. When asked if it was the case, he replied:
No, because there will be consultation between both sides at every step of the way, and ultimately there’s a parliamentary lock on this. Parliament translates the rules into UK law. And the truth is the reality is the vast majority of the kind of rules we’re talking about, which relate to cross-border trade in goods, have stayed relatively stable over the years.
When it was put to him that the common rulebook would be set by the EU, and that the UK would not be involved, Raab replied:
That’s true. But in terms of as those rules are formulated, or any changes to those rules - we’ve signed up to them so far through the normal democratic process - we’ll have deep and enhanced dialogue and consultation, so we’ll have a chance to influence it. And ultimately parliament has that lock. So it’s not right to say we’ll be a rule-taker in the sense that that’s normally used.
I’ll post more from Raab’s interview soon.
Here is the agenda for the day.
Morning: The Nato summit concludes in Brussels.
9.30m: Michael Gove, the environment secretary, takes questions in the Commons.
Around 11.30: Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the Commons, takes business questions in the Commons.
Around 12.30am: Dominic Raab, the new Brexit secretary, makes a statement in the Commons as the government publishes its Brexit white paper.
Lunchtime: Donald Trump arrives at Stansted for his visit to London. His main engagement today is a gala dinner at Blenheim Palace in the evening.
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. I plan to post a summary at lunchtime and another at the end of the day.
You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.
Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news from Jack Blanchard. 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
