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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Politics
Andrew Sparrow

Brexit transition deal breaks seven promises made by ministers, say campaigners – as it happened

David Davis (left), the Brexit secretary, and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, at their news conference. On a screen behind them are projected pages from the colour-coded draft withdrawal agreement, with the green patches showing what has been agreed.
David Davis (left), the Brexit secretary, and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, at their news conference. On a screen behind them are projected pages from the colour-coded draft withdrawal agreement, with the green patches showing what has been agreed. Photograph: Francois Lenoir/Reuters

Afternoon summary

It’s been apparent for a long time that the obtaining of data, the use that can be made of it, for commercial or political purposes, is a goldmine for those who wish to breach the law and the sanctions that can be visited on those that do this are entirely inadequate. I’m perfectly aware that the government is amending the legislation, but I have to say I don’t think the laws that we are enacting in terms of the penalties on those who behave in this fashion are anything like draconian enough. The financial incentives are far too great to break the law, the penalties proportionally insufficient, and ultimately we are going to have to be much tougher if we are going to stop this sort of behaviour.

Matt Hancock, the culture secretary, said he had “some sympathy” for Grieve’s argument. He also said it was “outrageous” that Facebook responded to the complaints by suspending the Facebook account of the whistleblower who exposed what had happened.

That’s all from me for today.

Thanks for the comments.

Nigel Farage, the former Ukip leader, says Theresa May should resign in the light of today’s Brexit transition deal.

Updated

Treasury minister Mel Stride refuses to endorse Grayling's claim about no new border checks being introduced after Brexit

In the Commons Hilary Benn, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons Brexit committee, tabled an urgent question about customs. He asked the minister responding, Treasury minister Mel Stride, when Chris Grayling, the transport secretary, was planning to tell MPs about the plan he announced on Question Time last week to have no new checks on lorries arriving at Dover after Brexit. And how was this compatible with the government’s plan to leave the customs union, Benn asked.

Stride refused to repeat the assurances Grayling gave and instead pointed out that Grayling also said on Question Time that the government was opposed to having a hard border at Dover and that the the government would not be stopping every lorry at Dover. “This, of course, is absolutely right,” Stride said (implying that other parts of what Grayling said on Question Time were less reliable.)

No 10 lists concessions UK secured in withdrawal treaty negotiation

As the Press Association reports, Downing Street has listed a number of improvements which the UK secured in today’s draft withdrawal treaty text, compared to the version put forward by the European commission last month. The list includes:

Explicit agreement that the UK can sign and ratify trade deals during the transition period, to be brought into force on January 1 2021;

The ability for the UK to act in international bodies in its own right during the transition period;

Freedom for the UK to move to future arrangements on foreign policy and defence collaboration as soon as they are ready and not to be bound to accept or apply EU decisions it does not agree with;

Creation of a joint committee to oversee the transition agreement, with a clear commitment on both sides to act in good faith;

Wording to make clear that Gibraltar is included in the agreement;

Safeguards to ensure that the UK is consulted on fishing quotas for 2019, with a commitment that Britain’s share of the total catch cannot change;

Agreement that UK citizens will be free to live and work in the EU during the transition period and a reduction from two years to six months in the proposed “grace period” for EU citizens to apply for immigration status in the UK.

Mike Hookem, the Ukip fisheries spokesman, has described today’s transition deal as a “total betrayal” of British fishermen. He said:

When the EU say they will allow consultation on fishing rules, we all know that means the UK will be totally ignored. It’s bad enough at the moment while we are still part of the EU.

The simple fact is, the Tories betrayed the fishing industry on the way into the EU, and totally shafted the same sector on the way on the way out.

Open Britain, which is campaigning for a soft Brexit, claims that the draft EU withdrawal agreement published today (pdf) contains provisions that would centralise powers in the hands of ministers.

Article 157 says the UK and the EU will set up a joint committee to resolve any disputes about the withdrawal agreement. And article 159 says the decisions of the joint committee shall be binding on both sides.

In the draft both articles are coloured green, meaning they are agreed items, not items still subject to negotiation.

Chris Leslie, a Labour MP and Open Britain supporter, said:

In the referendum campaign we were told leaving the EU would be about ‘taking back control’ but it is more and more apparent that UK Ministers see this about being centralising power in their hands.

Their EU withdrawal bill already gives them the power to rewrite laws without reference to parliament and now it appears they want to extend that power indefinitely through this draft treaty. Most ironically of all, they would be able to use this power if they secured the agreement of the EU for any law changes they proposed.

They have not even discussed this idea in parliament before they have agreed it with the European commission. They need to now immediately come to parliament and tell us what they think they are playing at.


Scottish Tory says transition deal worse than 'pint of cold sick' for fishermen

The Scottish Conservative MP Douglas Ross has strongly criticising the fishing elements of the transition deal. In a statement he posted on Twitter, he said that the government had delivered “far less” than he hoped for and expected and that “it would be easier to get someone to drink a pint of cold sick than to sell this as a success”.

Echoing language used by this Scottish Tory colleagues Ross Thomson, John Lamont and Ruth Davidson (see 2.08pm), he said he would not support any final deal that did not give the UK “full control” over fish stocks and vessel access.

In the Commons John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, has tabled an urgent question asking what the government has done to address the problems of “dirty money” in the UK.

Ben Wallace, the security minister, responded on behalf of the government by trying to blitz McDonnell with an exhaustive list of measures. He said the government had made money laundering harder; reversed the burden of proof for people suspected of getting money from organised crime; allowed assets to be confiscated from people guilty of human rights abuse; backed a Magnitsky amendment to the sanctions bill going through parliament; made it easier for criminals’ money to be taken from bank accounts; introduced powers to allow terrorists’ assets to be frozen; made failing to prevent tax evasion a criminal offence; prosecuted people under the Bribery Act; introduced fair prosecution agreements to incentivise companies to face up up to fraud allegations; put one minister in charge of economic crime; beefed up the powers of the Serious Fraud Office; held an anti-corruption summit; estabished a joint financial analysis centre in the National Crime Agency; established a register of beneficial ownership of companies; and committed to establishing a public register of overseas owners of UK property.

McDonnell replied by saying that, for all this, “dirty money” was still a big problem. He said the National Crime Agency still estimates that £90bn of criminal money is laundered through the UK ever year.

A more measured attack came from the Labour MP Margaret Hodge, a former chair of the public accounts committee. She told Wallace:

I do acknowledge that the government has taken some steps. What I would put to the minister is that they have not taken enough steps.

She said she was particularly concerned about tier 1 investor visas, which allow foreigners to come to the UK if they are investing £2m. She said Russians were one of the main users of this scheme. What does the government do to ensure this money is clean, she asked.

Wallace said “not for the first time” Hodge was making a good suggestion. He said the government would be looking at this scheme to ensure it did better due diligence.

(If you are interested in this topic, Ed Miliband and Geoff Lloyd’s Reasons to be Cheerful podcast had a good discussion on this last week - not least because it included a contribution from my Guardian colleague Luke Harding.)

These are from Sky’s David Blevins.

Sinn Fein on today’s deal

The DUP on today’s deal

And here is how Blevins sums it all up very crisply.

Leave Means Leave, a successor to the Ukip-linked Leave.EU campaign, has criticised today’s deal. In a statement it said:

While there has clearly been some commendable progress, we are very concerned over the Northern Ireland backstop proposal. This is a dreadful way of negotiating. Just weeks ago, the prime minister said ‘no UK prime minister could ever agree to this’. Once again we appear to have caved in.

This is totally unnecessary and UK negotiators must insist that this is removed from the text.

We also have serious concerns over the proposals for our fishing waters.

Under the current plans, we will not be taking back control of our fisheries when we leave the EU – something which the government had previously promised.

Mats Persson, who worked in Downing Street for David Cameron as a Europe adviser, says that, although a transition deal has been announced today, the fact that it is conditional on a final withdrawal agreement being reached in the autumn means businesses cannot be 100% sure it will happen. As a result, many will want to activate “no deal” contingency plans, he says.

According to BrexitCentral’s David Scullion, the Scottish Conservative MP Ross Thomson has said the UK should set its own fishing policy during the transition.

The government claims that the UK will not be part of the commons fisheries policy during the transition because it will not be in the EU. This is technically correct, although for all practical purposes the UK will remain in the CFP during that period.

The European parliament has welcomed the draft withdrawal agreement. In a statement, it welcomes, among other things, the fact that “UK proposals advocating discrimination between EU citizens arrived before and after the start of the transition period have been rejected.”

Steve Peers, a professor of EU law, has written a long Twitter thread on what’s new in the draft withdrawal treaty published today. It’s thorough and authoritative, and well worth reading if you take a close interest in Brexitology.

This is from my colleague Dan Roberts.

Transition deal contradicts seven Brexit promises made by ministers, says Open Britain

Open Britain, which is campaigning for a soft Brexit, says today’s transition deal contradicts seven promises made by Brexiters in government. There is a briefing here with the detail. And here is the start of a Twitter thread setting out the “broken promises”.

Business groups warmly welcome transition deal

The CBI has described the transition deal as “a victory for common sense”. In a statement its director general, Carolyn Fairbairn, said:

This is what businesses have been calling for since last summer. It brings a welcome gift of time for firms on both sides. While some sectors may need more than 20 months to prepare for post-Brexit life, this is a victory for common sense that will help protect living standards, jobs and growth. It shows what can be achieved when people and prosperity are placed above politics and ideology.

Adam Marshall, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, has also welcomed the deal. He said:

This is a milestone that many businesses across the UK have been waiting for. The agreement of a status quo transition period is great news for trading firms on both sides of the channel, as it means that they will face little or no change in day-to-day business in the short term.

While some companies would have liked to see copper-bottomed legal guarantees around the transition, the political agreement reached in Brussels is sufficient for most businesses to plan ahead with a greater degree of confidence. Many companies will now have the clarity they require to proceed with investment and hiring strategies that would otherwise have remained in question.

His reference to the absence of “legal guarantees” refers to the fact that the transition deal is conditional upon there being a withdrawal agreement. As David Davis, the Brexit secretary, admitted recently, there is a possibility that the withdrawal agreement talks could collapse without a deal at the last moment. In those circumstances, there would be no transition and the UK would leave the EU abruptly at the end of March next year.

Mike Cherry, national chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, is also pleased. He said:

Finalising transition period terms will gift some certainty to the UK small business community and protect it from a damaging cliff-edge moment. Wherever possible, small firms want only one set of rule changes that take effect from the end of 2020. It’s good to see an agreement which will largely mean business owners can continue to operate broadly as they do now until 31 December 2020. Today’s announcement will make it that much easier for firms to plan, grow, trade, invest and hire.

SNP says Tories have 'sold out Scottish fishing industry'

Scotland’s rural economy secretary, Fergus Ewing, has lambasted the Tories after the UK government agreed to keep the common fisheries policy in place for the full two year Brexit transition period.

Ewing accused Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Tory leader, and Michael Gove, the UK environment secretary, of breaking promises that the UK would immediately pull out of the CFP on the day of Brexit.

Remaining in the controversial policy, which gives EU fleets a large share of UK landings, has in fact emerged as one of the UK’s main concessions to win a deal on the two year transition period after the UK leaves the EU in March 2019. Ewing said:

The Tories have sold out the Scottish fishing industry once again and Ruth Davidson should be shame-faced for her fastest broken Brexit promise yet. Just last week she said ‘Britain will leave the CFP as of March 2019’.

Now we know not only will the UK have to abide by CFP rules during the transition period, it will lose the voting rights it has now. The Tories have delivered the worst possible outcome for Scotland’s fishing industry.

Davidson acknowledged on Monday the deal was not to her liking, describing it as an “undoubted disappointment.” She said:

Having spoken to fishing leaders today, I know they are deeply frustrated with this outcome. I’ve made clear to them that I will continue to do everything in my power to ensure their interests are protected during the implementation period and beyond.

The deal is uncomfortable puts both the Tories and the Scottish National party in difficult territory. The Tories won six prized SNP seats in north east Scotland, a stronghold for the British fishing industry, partly on promises of delivering Brexit.

The SNP, however, still insists that an independent Scotland would rejoin the EU, and with it the CFP. Ewing’s stress on Davidson’s broken promises works only so far.

Six members of staff have announced plans to resign from Labour HQ, according to sources, including some senior figures. Their decisions follow on from the departures of Iain McNicol and Emilie Oldknow, who had been tipped as a potential successor.

The moves come a day ahead of an NEC meeting at which it is expected that Jennie Formby will be appointed general secretary.

Sources say the figures include those who worked closely with McNicol, and they will work out their three month notice periods, covering the local elections.

The Guardian understands that those leaving include: Julie Lawrence, who is the director of the general secretary’s office, John Stolliday, head of the compliance unit, Dan Simpson, who was London Labour director but has been doing mat cover as PLP secretary, Neil Fleming in London and Simon Jackson on policy and research.

Ruth Davidson says final deal must give UK 'full control' over fish stocks

Yesterday a Scottish Conservative MP, John Lamont, said he would vote down any Brexit deal that did not give Britain full control of its fish stocks.

Ruth Davidson, the Scottish Conservative leader, backed his stance on Twitter.

The Twitter exchanges did not clarify whether Lamont and Davidson were setting conditions for after Brexit day, or after the transition. As the UK and the EU have agreed today, the UK won’t have full control of its fish stocks during the transition.

Davidson has now clarified her stance in a post on Facebook. She says that she accepts that Scottish fishermen are “deeply frustrated” about the arrangements for the transition, and that, in the long term the UK must have “full control” over boats and fish stocks.

I am more determined than ever to ensure that this long-term prize for our fishing industry is seized.

So I should make it clear today that I will not support a deal as we leave the EU which, over the long-term, fails to deliver that full control over fish stocks and vessel access.

In its guidelines for a future trade deal the EU says it wants EU fishermen to continue to have the same access to British waters after Brexit that they do now. Theresa May has accepted they should have some access, in return for British fishermen having some access to EU waters.

Davidson’s call for “full control” sounds sounds firm and definitive, but it may just be semantic muscularity. There is no doubt about the UK notionally having “full control”. But, exercising that control, it then plans to grant the EU a level of access to its waters. The eventual outcome may or may not be acceptable to fisherman, but it will be compatible with the “red line” imposed by Davidson.

Fishermen say they've been let down by Brexit transition deal

The Scottish Fisherman’s Federation has criticised today’s Brexit transition deal. In a statement, its chief executive Bertie Armstrong said:

This falls far short of an acceptable deal.

We will leave the EU and leave the CFP, but hand back sovereignty over our seas a few seconds later.

Our fishing communities’ fortunes will still be subject to the whim and largesse of the EU for another two years.

Put simply, we do not trust them to look after us. So we issue this warning to the EU: be careful what you do or the consequences later will be severe.

To our politicians we say this: some have tried to secure a better deal but our governments have let us down.

Seagulls following a Scottish fishing trawler
Seagulls following a Scottish fishing trawler Photograph: Simone Padovani/Awakening/Getty Images

Here is my colleague Daniel Boffey’s story on today’s Brexit deal.

Open Britain, which is campaigning for a soft Brexit, has put out this statement from the Labour MP Chuka Umunna says today’s deal shows that Brexiters have had to “surrender on almost every single point”.

Despite once claiming they held all the cards in the negotiations, in the end the Brexiters have been prepared to compromise and surrender on almost every single point.

On the divorce bill, on the primacy of European law, on freedom of movement, on fisheries, the government has yet again capitulated. We should be in no doubt that this will be the shape of things to come in the negotiations over the future relationship.

Umunna says that, instead of having a transition, it would make more sense to extend article 50 and remain in the EU after March 2019 pending negotiations.

And Best for Britain, which is opposed to Brexit and campaigning for a second referendum, has released this statement from its CEO Eloise Todd.

This exciting Brexit future is looking less and less like a global Britain heading for the sunlit uplands and more and more as though it will consist of ministers going cap in hand to Donald Trump for crumbs.

Far from taking back control this deal signs us up to something that looks very similar to EU membership until 2020, yet we won’t have any say over the rules of the club in that period.

Here is the full text of Michel Barnier’s statement at the start of the press conference (mostly in French - an English language version does not seem to be available yet.)

And here is the full text of David Davis’s statement at the start of the press conference.

Labour says government should have been able to reach transition deal months ago

Sir Keir Starmer, the shadow Brexit secretary, has welcomed the transition deal. But he says the government could have agreed it months ago.

This agreement could have been signed months ago but ministers wasted time fighting among themselves, holding out on negotiating objectives that they have failed to achieve and pursuing their reckless red lines.

Labour was the first to call for sensible transitional arrangements because it is the only way to protect jobs and the economy.

It is welcome that they have finally struck a deal on transition and now the government must prioritise negotiating a final agreement that protects jobs, the economy and guarantees there will be no hard border in Northern Ireland.

According to ITV’s Carl Dinnen, the DUP are “relaxed” about the fact that the regulatory alignment proposal (the “backstop” solution to the Irish border problem) is still in the draft withdrawal agreement.

The Times’s Bruno Waterfield says the UK side are talking up five achievements from the deal.

(Waterfield means bigging up, not begging up, although “begging” does have potential Freudian connotations. The UK does not want to be seen as a loser.)

Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, has said that the transition deal appears to be a “massive sellout of the Scottish fishing industry”.

She was commenting on this tweet from the BBC’s Sarah Smith.

Theresa May has put out this statement about today’s deal.

I think the message people can take from this is that prior to December people questioned whether we would get agreement then. We did. People questioned whether we would get agreement now. We have.

I think what this shows is that with good will on both sides, working hard, we can get an arrangement for the future which will be in the interests of the UK and in the interests of the European Union and it will be good for all parts of the UK.

Davis/Barnier press conference - Snap summary

Here are the main points from the Davis/Barnier press conference.

  • Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, and David Davis, the Brexit secretary, have reached a deal on a transition agreement. The news has been welcomed in the City, where sterling has hit a one-month high against the dollar. (See 12.15pm.)
  • The UK has compromised on some of the EU’s key demands for the transition. It will end on 31 December 2020 (the EU’s preferred date), not around March 2021 (the UK’s preferred date). And EU nationals arriving in the UK during the transition will get the same rights as EU nationals here before. Theresa May originally said she would resist this.
  • The UK has accepted that EU fishermen will still get the same access to UK waters during the transition as they do now. The UK’s share of fishing quotas will remain the same. But it will only have the right to be consulted about any changes to the total catch; it will not have a veto.
  • The UK will have the right to negotiate its own trade deals during the transition, the EU has confirmed. But it will not be able to implement those deals until after the transition is over.
  • The UK and the EU have published a new version of the draft withdrawal treaty (pdf). It is colour-coded, showing where the two sides have reached agreement (in green), where they are halfway towards an agreement (in yellow) and where matters are unresolved (in white).
  • The EU has retained the provisions in the draft treaty proposing regulatory alignment between Northern Ireland and Ireland as a “backstop” solution to the border issue, even though Theresa May described this wording as unacceptable. Both sides are committed to a solution, but today’s document shows that they are not closer to deciding what this could be.
  • The EU has retained a version of the proposed “punishment clause” that could be used to penalise the UK during the transition if it were seen to break single market rules. (See 12.10pm.) The UK has not accepted this. When an earlier version of the proposal was first floated, Davis accused the EU of acting in bad faith.
David Davis (left), the Brexit secretary, and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, at their news conference. On a screen behind them are projected pages from the colour-coded draft withdrawal agreement, with the green patches showing what has been agreed.
David Davis (left), the Brexit secretary, and Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, at their news conference. On a screen behind them are projected pages from the colour-coded draft withdrawal agreement, with the green patches showing what has been agreed. Photograph: Wiktor Dabkowski/ZUMA Wire/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

Q: What is the difference between signing a trade deal during the transition, and signing one afterwards? And, if you can sign one during the transition, won’t that be one of the fastest in history? And when can trade talks start?

Davis says the UK wants to get on with the talks on the future partnership as soon as possible. And there will be no trade deal like it, because the start from the same place.

He says an 18-month trade deal would not be the fastest in the world. Chile has done some more quickly.

This will be the “biggest, the most comprehensive, the most effective trade deal ever”, he says.

Barnier says, when the UK leaves the EU, it will leave 750 EU deals. There will be a lot of work for the UK to do.

As for when the trade talks with the UK will start, he says the EU will need a mandate.

He will be mandated to begin discussions on this, he says.

They have to talk trade. But it is not just trade. There are other areas - security, legal cooperation, partnership on security and defence.

And he says these will be “discussions”. He uses that word because formal negotiations cannot start until the UK has left the EU.

In the meantime they will be scoping an agreement for the future commercial relationship, from about April, he says.

  • Barnier says formal trade negotiations between EU and UK will not start until after Brexit, although discussions on “scoping” a deal will take place before.

The press conference is now over.

Q: Does the transition cover Gibraltar?

Davis says it does. “That is our view of it.” The UK is still having discussions on this with Spain, he says.

Barnier says Gibraltar will leave the EU at the same time as the UK.

Q: Hasn’t the UK broken all its promises by saying a hard border in Ireland is a possibility?

Davis says the UK remains steadfast in its commitment to avoiding a hard border in Ireland. He refers to Simon Coveney’s tweet earlier, in which the Irish foreign minister accepted this was a priority for the UK. (See 10.37am.)

Q: [To Barnier] Unless you are willing to block the final agreement, haven’t you given way on Ireland?

Barnier says he thinks it will still be possible to find a practical solution.

But he repeats the point about how nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.

Davis/Barnier's Q&A

Q: Do you accept the transition will end on 31 December 2020?

Davis says December 2020 is the end date.

  • Davis confirms Brexit transition will end on 31 December 2020.

Davis says attention must now turn to the future.

The prime minister has set out a powerful vision of the future for the trade relationship. His job is to deliver on it, he says.

He ends by saying a good deal is closer than ever before.

Davis says both the UK and the EU are committed to December’s joint report “in its entirety”.

That means the legal text must include reference to the backstop solution.

But Davis says the UK wants to ensure that an alternative solution to the border issue is found.

The pound has just hit a one-month high against the US dollar, as City traders welcome Barnier and Davis’s statements.

Sterling is now up 1%, or 1.3 cents, to $1.4080, extending its earlier gains.

Davis says the offer for EU nationals living in the UK will be reciprocal.

Davis says the implementation period is about providing certainty for the short-term, but also about allowing the UK to begin preparing for life outside the EU.

The UK will be able to sign trade deals during this time, he says.

He says a joint committee with representatives from the UK and the EU will be set up to resolve differences that arrive. There will be a commitment from both sides to work in good faith.

He says safeguards have also been agreed for annual fishing negotiations. They will only apply for 2019. For 2020, the UK will negotiate fishing as an independent state.

For 2019, the UK will be consulted about fishing quotas. And its share of total catch cannot be changed, he says.

On foreign policy, he says the UK could choose not to apply EU foreign policy decisions during the transition.

David Davis, the Brexit secretary, is speaking now.

He says today marks a significant step in the Brexit process.

He says both sides have worked hard to agree a time-limited implementation period.

The Telegraph’s Anna Isaac points out that the so-called transition “punishment clause” is still part of the text.

Barnier is now winding up.

He says the elements of this deal, including the transition, will only take effect if the final withdrawal agreement is agreed.

Barnier confirms regulatory alignment solution for Ireland will be part of withdrawal agreement as backstop option

Barnier turns to the governance of the withdrawal agreement.

The governance arrangements affecting the rights of EU nationals have been settled, he says. But other governance arrangements are yet to be finalised.

On Ireland, he says a note has been published today showing how this issue will be dealt with.

It says both sides are committed to the joint report published in December, “in all its aspects”.

It has been agreed that the backstop solution (regulatory alignment) must form part of the withdrawal agreement.

The backstop will apply unless and until another solution is found, he says.

  • Barnier confirms the regulatory alignment solution for Ireland will be part of withdrawal agreement as a backstop option.

EU nationals arriving in UK during the transition will get same rights as EU nationals there before, says Barnier

Barnier says there has also been an agreement on the transition.

During the transition the UK will no longer participate in EU decision making processes, he says.

  • UK will not participate in EU decision-making during the transition, Barnier says. But it will still be bound by single market rules.
  • EU nationals arriving in UK during the transition will get same rights as EU nationals there before, says Barnier.

Barnier says a new text of the draft withdrawal agreement is being published.

It is colour-coded. The green bits are the bits that are agreed, he says. The yellow bits refect areas where there is a political agreement, but the legal text needs to be agreed.

And the bits in white are where there is no agreement, or where discussion has not started, he says.

Barnier says legal text on Brexit transition has been agreed

Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, starts by thanking both sides for their hard work.

He says this agreement will be a legal agreement.

Today they are presenting a legal text. They are able to agree a large part of what will be an agremeent for the ordered withdrawal of the UK from the EU.

  • Barnier says a legal text on the transition has been agreed.

But we are not at the end of the road. There is more work to do, particularly on Ireland, he says.

He says he will present what has been agreed to EU leaders on Friday.

Before then, he will also present it to MEPs and to the commission, he says.

Updated

Davis/Barnier press conference

The press conference is now starting.

There is a live feed here.

Number 10 told reporters at the morning lobby briefing that David Davis would be making an imminent announcement on the progress of the talks.

Asked if the prime minister was preparing to “sell out” UK fishermen, Downing Street said it would be clear that was not the case. The prime minister’s spokesman said:

In terms of the implementation period, we’ve been clear we want to have proper protections in place for UK fishermen. In the Mansion House speech, the PM was clear that UK fishermen should get a fairer share.

Here is a thread from Politico Europe’s Tom McTague on the transition deal.

Updated

These are from my colleague Daniel Boffey in Brussels.

Updated

Rees-Mogg seems to soften his opposition to proposed Brexit transition deal

In an article for today’s Daily Telegraph (paywall) Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Tory backbencher and chair of the European Research Group, which is pushing for a harder rather than a softer Brexit, says that the UK will be seen as a “joke nation” if it does not get a transition deal that enables it negotiate and sign trade deals during that period. He says:

We must be able to negotiate and sign trade deals. Yet this does not depend just on our legal ability to do so. It depends on how other countries view us. If they think that we are bound by the EU’s “duty of sincere cooperation” or its common commercial policy, then they will rightly not take us seriously. The critical aspects of trade negotiations happen at the end when deals are done. We will not get there if other states see we cannot cut deals.

In the words of one country’s frustrated trade negotiator, Britain has to decide if it is a serious country or a joke nation. It would be humiliating for others to have cause to think thus of us.

The article reads as if Rees-Mogg is laying down an ultimatum to the prime minister. But, in practice, he seems to be signalling he’s starting to compromise. The EU has already signalled that the UK will be allowed to negotiate trade deals with the transition (so long as it waits until after the transition is over before it implements them.)

Rees-Mogg’s objections to a transition deal used to be much stronger. In January he was saying that if during the transition the UK had to remain subject to the European court of justice, obey new EU laws, and keep paying into the EU budget, it would be a vassal state. All three of these conditions will apply to the transition deal due to be announced later today. But, in his Telegraph article, Rees-Mogg barely mentioned them.

Tories outspent Labour by £7.5m ahead of 2017 general election, Electoral Commission reveals

The Electoral Commission has published figures showing how much the main parties spent during the 2017 general election. These sums cover the “regulated period” - the year leading up to polling day. They show the Tories outspent Labour by around £7.5m.

Party spending for 2017 general election campaign
Party spending for 2017 general election campaign Photograph: Electoral Commission

Detailed figures are available on the commission’s website here.

Updated

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that a broad agreement has been reached on the Brexit transition.

Business Insider’s Adam Payne says EU sources are confirming the WSJ report.

This is from Sky’s Beth Rigby.

Updated

Here is some more comment on the statement from EU foreign ministers on the Salisbury nerve agent attack. (See 10.10am.)

From Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform

From Jonathan Eyal, an associate director at RUSI

From Peter Foster, the Daily Telegraph’s Europe editor

Pound jumps on hopes of Brexit transition deal

The pound is rallying this morning, on hopes that Britain and the European Union are making progress towards a Brexit transition deal.

Sterling has jumped by almost a cent against the US dollar to $1.403, a three week high.

The pound vs the US dollar
The pound-US dollar exchange rate Photograph: Thomson Reuters

Against the euro, the pound has risen by 0.5% to €1.14 - a five-week high.

Traders are reacting to speculation that David Davis and Michel Barnier are making progress at today’s meeting, ahead of the EU summit later this week.

It sounds like the upcoming Davis-Barnier press conference could be significant....

Europeans should 'stop being naive' about Putin, says Merkel ally

Manfred Weber, the German MEP, Merkel ally and leader of the centre-right European People’s party group in the European parliament, says that Vladimir Putin is “leading a modern war against the west” and that Europeans need to “stop being naive”.

Simon Coveney, the Irish foreign minister, posted this on Twitter earlier this morning.

And after a meeting with Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, he posted this.

The BBC’s Adam Fleming thinks there is a difference in tone between the two tweets.

Here is the Wall Street Journal’s Simon Nixon on the statement from EU foreign ministers. (See 10.10am.)

But the Telegraph’s James Crisp says Italy was very supportive towards the UK as the statement was being drawn up.

Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, has welcomed the statement from EU foreign ministers. (See 10.10am.)

Updated

EU foreign ministers come close to backing UK's assessment Russia to blame for Salisbury attack

The EU foreign affairs council has just issued a statement about the Salisbury nerve agent attack. Here it is in full.

The European Union strongly condemns the attack that took place against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury, UK on 4 March 2018, that also left a police officer seriously ill. The lives of many citizens were threatened by this reckless and illegal act. The European Union takes extremely seriously the UK government’s assessment that it is highly likely that the Russian Federation is responsible.

The European Union is shocked at the offensive use of any military-grade nerve agent, of a type developed by Russia, for the first time on European soil in over 70 years. The use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances is completely unacceptable and constitutes a security threat to us all. Any such use is a clear violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, a breach of international law and undermines the rules-based international order. The EU welcomes the commitment of the UK to work closely with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in supporting the investigation into the attack. The union calls on Russia to address urgently the questions raised by the UK and the international community and to provide immediate, full and complete disclosure of its novichok programme to the OPCW.

The European Union expresses its unqualified solidarity with the UK and its support, including for the UK’s efforts to bring those responsible for this crime to justice.

The EU will remain closely focussed on this issue and its implications.

The formula that the EU is taking “extremely seriously” the UK’s assessment that Russia was “highly likely” to be responsible for the Salisbury attack is not quite a full endorsement of the British government’s position.

But it reflects the language the US and Germany were using early last week before they firmed up their position on Thursday and signed the joint statement from the UK, the US, France and Germany saying that there was “no plausible alternative” to Russia being responsible.

The Telegraph’s James Crisp thinks this is as much as the UK could hope for from the EU as a whole at this point.

According to AFP’s Danny Kemp in Brussels, we are getting a David Davis press conference later.

And here is more from Patrick on the German response to the Skripal poisoning.

This is from my colleague Patrick Wintour, the Guardian’s diplomatic editor.

The UK’s gambling regulator has given the government the all-clear to defy calls to cut the stakes on the roulette-style games offered on controversial fixed-odds betting terminals (FOBTs) to £2, my colleague Rob Davies reports.

Federica Mogherini, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said this morning the EU will announce a common position in response to the Salisbury attacks later today. It is unclear whether that statement will outline sanctions or other counter-measures against Russia.

EU leaders will also discuss the Salisbury attacks at a summit in Brussels on Thursday and Friday.

Some foreign ministers suggested today may be too soon to take decisions. Spain’s Alfonso Dastis said:

We think now the time is for an extended examination of all the elements involved with the participation of the OPCW [Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons].

Experts from the OPCW will be visiting Porton Down in Wiltshire today to assess the nerve agent used to poison Sergey Skripal and his daughter.

Belgium’s foreign minister, Didier Reynders, said it was necessary to put pressure on Russia to take part in a real inquiry.

Sweden dismissed Russian claims that it was the source of the nerve toxin as “ridiculous and totally unfounded”. Margot Wallström, the country’s foreign minister, said Russia was “trying to make some kind of diversion from the real issues”.

Russia's denials over spy poisoning growing 'increasingly absurd', says Boris Johnson

Two big stories are likely to dominate today. David Davis, the Brexit secretary, is meeting Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, in Brussels today amid speculation that they will finalise a deal on the Brexit transition, ahead of the EU summit taking place at the end of this week. And there is still in intense focus on whether Britain will take further action against Russia, after the nerve agent attack in Salisbury and last week’s diplomat expulsions that were that were replicated by Moscow.

Boris Johnson, the foreign secretary, is discussing Russia at a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels this morning. As he arrived he told journalists that he was encouraged by how much support there was for the UK and its decision to hold Russia responsible for the attack. He explained:

The Russian denials grow increasingly absurd. At one time they say they never made novichok. At another time they say they did make novichok, but all the stocks have been destroyed. Then again they say they made novichok and all the stocks have been destroyed, but some of them have mysteriously escaped to Sweden or the Czech Republic, Slovakia, or the United States or even the United Kingdom.

What people can see is that this is a classic Russian strategy of trying to conceal the needle of truth in a haystack of lies and obfuscation.

What really strikes me, talking to European friends and partners today, is that 12 years after the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko in London, they are not fooling anybody anymore.

There is scarcely a country round the table here in Brussels that has not been affected in recent years by some kind of malign or disruptive Russian behaviour. That is why I think the strength and resolve of our European friends is so striking today.

(On Thursday Johnson was arguing that Russia was not seriously trying to deny responsibility for the Salisbury attack, but never mind. What is consistent in what Johnson is saying is that he is accusing Moscow of dishonesty and of failing to take the nerve agent attack seriously.)

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Boris Johnson attends a meeting of the EU foreign affairs council in Brussels.

11am: Downing Street lobby briefing

2pm: Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, speaks at a Brexit conference.

2.30am: Damian Hinds, the education secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

Also, David Davis, the Brexit secretary, is meeting Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator in Brussels. They are expected to hold a press conference around lunchtime, but that has not been confirmed.

And at some point today experts from the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will arrive in the UK to start their own investigation into the nerve agent used in Salisbury.

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. I plan to post a summary at lunchtime and another in the afternoon.

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’ 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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