Closing summary
- At a One Nation hustings event, Michael Gove, Matt Hancock, Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab (see 7.04pm) elaborated on their Brexit plans. Gove said the UK’s end of October Brexit deadline is “arbitrary” and that he is “not wedded” to it, Hancock appealed to the centre ground and seemed to focus less on Brexit, and Hunt talked up his skills as a “lifelong entrepreneur” and said the leader needed to negotiate a better agreement than no-deal, while Raab told Tory MPs he would be prepared to temporarily shut down parliament to make sure Brexit happens by the deadline.
- Health secretary Hancock declared he would roll back some of the Tory reforms to the NHS which have seen large swathes of the health service privatised. (see 7.24pm)
- Donald Trump flew from Shannon airport to his golf resort in Doonbed, Co Clarewhere amid protests against the US military’s use of Irish soil to transport military equipment and personnel. (see 8.20pm)
- Veteran parachutists jumped over Normandy, 75 years since they did so as paratroopers on D-Day.
-
Trump told Leo Varadkar that he was confident the Irish border situation would be fine after Brexit because some “good minds” were working on it. However, yesterday afternoon, the US president met the Brexit party leader Nigel Farage and the Tory Brexiters Iain Duncan Smith and Owen Paterson. All three claim that there is no reason why the Irish border should be a problem after Brexit, even in the event of no-deal. (see 6.19pm)
Donald Trump has compared the post-Brexit Irish border with his own planned wall for the US border with Mexico.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 5, 2019
Get the latest news and video here: https://t.co/iOm40vn1kt pic.twitter.com/ydzWv0UAS4
- The Labour-run government in Wales is now officially committed to remaining in the EU, and is campaigning for remain. (see 4.59pm)
- Rory Stewart, the international development secretary and a long-shot candidate for the Conservative party leadership, has said the Brexit policies being promoted by many of his rivals, such as Boris Johnson, would be “catastrophic” for the UK.
I’m afraid [other leadership candidates] are misleading themselves and others, and that’s going to be catastrophic, because the reality is that Europe is barely sitting through to the end of October.
- David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister and May’s de facto deputy, has said the NHS “is not and will not be up for sale” in trade talks with the United States. Speaking at PMQs, in response to a question from Labour’s Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was standing in for Jeremy Corbyn (quite successfully – see 2.16pm), Lidington said:
The prime minister has been very clear and she spoke for everyone in the Government and on this side of the House - when it comes to trade negotiations, the NHS is not and will not be up for sale.
Yesterday, at a news conference, President Trump said the NHS would be on the table in any trade talks with the UK. But in an interview broadcast this morning, he retracted that, saying:
I don’t see [the NHS] being on the table. Somebody asked me a question today and I say everything is up for negotiation, because everything is. But that’s something I would not see as part of trade. That’s not trade.
We’re now going to wrap up the live blog today. Thanks for reading, and for all your comments. Have a nice evening.
Updated
Here is our report on tonight’s Tory leadership hustings, courtesy of the Guardian’s Heather Stewart and Rowena Mason.
Meanwhile, Labour has challenged frontrunner Boris Johnson to disavow his previous denial of climate science.
Updated
A peace camp was set up outside Shannon airport to demonstrate against Trump’s arrival, with more than one hundred protesters listening to speeches, poems and music throughout the day.
Many criticised Shannon Airport’s use by the American military. In 2002, the Irish government agreed to provide landing and refuelling facilities to the US military at the airport, and close to three million US troops and their weapons have passed through in the years since.
Wednesday’s protest was organised by local group Shannonwatch, who hold bi-weekly demonstrations at the airport protesting the military.
Politicians Catherine Connolly, the independent TD for Galway, newly elected MEP Clare Daly, and Labour TD for Limerick, Jan O Sullivan, were among the crowd who carried the flags of Venezuela, Puerto Rico, Mexico, Palestine as well as signs and banners protesting Trump.
Speaking at the event – amid a counter protest by about 20 Trump supporters – Connolly said she felt it important to stand against Trump’s policies.
I think President Trump’s policies are not acceptable and it’s unacceptable that we’re using Shannon Airport to traffic American soldiers to wars all over the world, it’s important to stand up for our neutrality. We should be a force for peace in the world.
There’s no doubt we have strong relations with America, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that we should stand up for what is right.
Saoirse Exton, 13, said the peace camp was her 15th protest and that she was there to stand against Trump’s policies on climate change.
I think climate change needs to be stopped and there’s not enough action being taken on it. President Trump doesn’t recognise climate change as a real cause, he pulled out of the Paris Climate agreement, and America has the biggest carbon emissions, and they’re one of the biggest countries that need to take action.
I want to preserve this earth for future generations, my generation are going to be the last generation if we don’t do something about it.
During the protests, letters were handed to a senior police officer to be passed on to Trump and the taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
The letters called for an immediate end to the US military use of Shannon, and what they called “Irish complicity in US military operations, and the environmental destruction of the planet”.
Donald Trump defended his environmental record after he was questioned over criticism from his Irish counterpart Michael D Higgins who claimed the US president’s stance on climate change was “regressive and pernicious”.
“I haven’t heard those comments,” Trump said amid protests outside Shannon airport before boarding Marine One to fly to his five-star golf resort in Doonbed, Co Clare.
But we have the cleanest air in the world in the United States and it’s gotten better since I became president, we have the cleanest water, it is crystal clear, I always say I want crystal clear water and air, so I haven’t heard his comments, but we are setting records environmentally.
In a speech in Dublin on Tuesday night, Higgins criticised the US decision to withdraw from the 2015 Paris climate change accord.
While the EU has a set of binding emissions targets for 2020 and 2030, we must now plan for full decarbonisation of our European economies by 2050, encouraging the rest of the world to follow suit, and urging in the strongest possible terms the USA to re-consider its regressive and pernicious decision to leave the global Paris Agreement.
Updated
Environment secretary Michael Gove has said his three Cabinet positions were effectively an “apprenticeship” for the top job.
According to the Telegraph’s deputy political editor, Steven Swinford, he claimed that he is no longer the neo-conservative he once was and highlighted criticism from Donald Trump over his “weak kneed, lily-livered approach” approach to Iran as evidence of how he has “evolved”. He also said that in hindsight the invasion of Iraq was the wrong decision.
Gove went on to say that the deadline of 31 October to leave the EU is “arbitrary”.
“If we get to October, let’s say we’re 95% there, say we default to no deal. That would be a mistake,” he is reported to have said – in opposition to Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab’s positions on the issue.
He warned that if government is “locked on” to a no deal, then that would lead to a confidence vote and possibly a general election. “We would lose that. We would have Corbyn propped up by Sturgeon. Therefore we must deliver Brexit”.
Suggesting some of his fellow candidates do not believe in the UK, Gove reportedly said:
If you believe in this country then saying I’m going to default to no deal actually isn’t having confidence we will get a deal ‘It’s because I have confidence in this country and it’s capacity to succeed that I believe we will get a deal.
Gove can clearly draw a crowd
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) June 5, 2019
Here at the Spectator interview with @FraserNelson it’s packed to the rafters
He’s says his three Cabinet jobs were effectively an ‘apprenticeship’ for the Tory leadership pic.twitter.com/jgzkYWEeM9
Updated
The Guardian’s political correspondent Peter Walker has been examining the register of MP’s interests ahead of the Tory leadership election.
Register of MPs' interests, Tory leadership edition: latest update shows Jeremy Hunt trousered just under £104,000 in donations from individuals and companies in the past month. pic.twitter.com/Ubxm0KEA6X
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 5, 2019
Finally, Twitter's Rory Stewart amassed just over £50,000 in donations, despite his minimal chances of becoming Tory leader. pic.twitter.com/r3GrTJrSJ1
— Peter Walker (@peterwalker99) June 5, 2019
Updated
Elsewhere, wildcard candidate Rory Stewart is trumpeting his ability to draw a crowd.
Conservative leadership candidate @RoryStewartUK tells audience at Q and A that he is the only contender who can draw a crowd spontaneously and that will persuade his colleagues to back him. Reiterates he would not serve under Boris Johnson as PM if he pursued a No Deal Brexit pic.twitter.com/uN2kepKpPm
— Richard Moss (@BBCRichardMoss) June 5, 2019
As one of the more social media savvy candidates, the secretary for international development livestreamed his event.
Matt Hancock has told HuffPost UK that as PM he would repeal part of the government’s reforms to privatise the NHS and end a requirement to tender services for outside work
It follows calls from NHS bosses to scrap the controversial legislation, which has seen profit-driven health firms win health service contracts in England worth about £10.5bn in the five years since the act came into force.
As prime minister, the legislation to improve the way that the NHS works would be a priority for me. We are putting the bill together now, the proposals are very much borne of the NHS.
The legislation includes removing some of the legal requirements to go to tender where that isn’t appropriate. With time, it’s been shown that it’s better done a different way. I believe very strongly in the NHS free at the point of use, according to need not ability to pay, that it should be well funded.
The central thrust is to try to remove some of the admin burdens and the overbearing legal requirements that have come as a consequence of the last set of reforms.
The health secretary also pledged to partly reverse the student nursing bursary axed by the government in 2016, leading to a 30% fall in nursing degree applications. Hancock said there would be new “targeted support” for mature students, mental health and community nurses under his leadership.
There’s a question of how you make sure the money we’ve got goes as far as possible. There’s an overall shortage of nursing. It isn’t as big as the headline vacancy figures suggest. But there are acute shortages, especially in some specific areas like mental health nurses, and community nursing.
I want to make sure that the approach we take is to support and incentivise people into those areas where we’ve got shortages.
Declaring that he doesn’t need to see Donald Trump after his apparent U-turn over whether the NHS would be ‘on the table’ in a post-Brexit trade deal, Hancock said:
I haven’t sought [a meeting with Trump], I haven’t been granted one. It’s neither here nor there. As the President has confirmed this morning the NHS is not on the table for trade talks so there would be no reason to.
He also said cyberflashing could be made illegal.
Cyberflashing is absolutely disgusting and it’s a really good case in point where what is illegal offline should also be illegal offline. If a man walked down the street and exposed himself to people who didn’t want that to happen there are laws about that. And yet online it seems increasingly to happen and we need to tackle it.
Yes the companies have got a responsibility and frankly their artificial intelligence algorithms should be able to work out what is and isn’t an inappropriate picture but there’s also a legal aspect here where we have the law and it needs to be applied properly.
Should we change the law?
If need be, like we did on upskirting yes. But the basis should be if it’s illegal offline, it’s illegal online too. I think in this area there’s more work that can be done.
Varadkar has spoken to reporters following his meeting with Trump.
[Trump] said in the meeting he was aware that the sticking point in negotiations, one of the most difficult points in the negotiations, is the issue of the Irish border and he wants to keep that open and believes that can be done.
We didn’t go into any particular detail as to how he thinks it can be done but he understands that that has to be a shared objective - that if the UK is going to leave with a deal, that deal must involve legally-operable guarantees that we won’t see the emergence of a hard border between north and south.
[Trump] didn’t elaborate on why he thinks Brexit would be good for Ireland. We very much discussed the different nature of the border and I explained that 20 or 30 years ago we did have a hard border between north and south, particularly when the Troubles were happening and there were customs posts and so on, and that everyone in Ireland - north and south, unionist and nationalist - want to avoid a return to a hard border, but that Brexit is a threat in that regard and an unintended consequence that we can’t allow.
Updated
Tory leadership contenders Michael Gove, Matt Hancock, Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab have been speaking at a One Nation group hustings this evening with chancellor Phillip Hammond in attendance.
Former Brexit secretary Raab has been talking up his negotiating skills, arguing that he is the only contender with a credible plan. He said he had “seen the EU upfront and personal” and “as Brexit secretary I looked our EU opposite numbers in the eyes”.
I know the strengths but also the weaknesses of their positions. That’s why we don’t just need a conviction Brexiteer. We need someone who is resolute, but someone who can navigate the rocky path ahead and get Brexit delivered. I’m the candidate you can trust, who will give us the best shot of getting a better deal for the UK.
Education minister Nadhim Zahawi, a supporter of Raab’s campaign, said he would not rule out anything – except delaying Brexit once again, which would leave the UK with “zero credibility”.
In contrast, Gove is said to have suggested the October 31 Brexit deadline could be extended in order to secure a deal, according to George Eustice. He added that candidates offering “easy, simple answers” by promising to leave on October 31 in any circumstance would “come unstuck”.
An MP who attended the Tory leadership hustings and did not wish to be named said: “He said that that is the date, but if it needs to move a day or a week in order to avoid something, then we shouldn’t be wedded to a single date.”
On a no-deal scenario, the MP said of Gove: “He said it wouldn’t be ideal, quite obviously. He’s looking for movement on the back stop.”
An MP supportive of Hancock said the health secretary had warned the hustings about the possibility of a Labour government. The MP, who also did not want to be named, told reporters: “He said there would be a danger that we would have an anti-Semitic party with its hands on the levers of power.”
This was swiftly rebuffed by Labour, with a source calling it a “baseless political attack”, according to the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar.
Foreign Secretary Hunt told the hustings that parliament would block a no-deal Brexit, and therefore the Tories needed a leader who could negotiate a better agreement. Referring to himself as a lifelong entrepreneur, he suggested that could be him.
At the moment we only have bad choices. We risk Parliament blocking no deal and the EU blocking a better deal, so we need a leader who can negotiate a new approach. I’m an entrepreneur who has been doing deals all my life. I negotiated the new BBC licence fee and the new doctors’ contract. I won’t pretend this will be easy.
I met (Emmanuel) Macron and (Angela) Merkel today in Portsmouth and a hardline approach will lead to a hardline response. They will wait for Parliament to block no deal.
Here is a snapshot from the lobby:
65 MPs present for Michael Gove to kick off the next round of One Nation hustings tonight - quite a bit fewer than yesterday. Philip Hammond in the audience
— Alex Wickham (@alexwickham) June 5, 2019
Dom Raab is not backing down on his comments about some feminists being 'obnoxious bigots'
— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) June 5, 2019
He tells One Nation hustings: 'There is a feminist agenda that is in favour of positive discrimination which puts me off the label'
Matt Hancock tells Tory leadership hustings: “I want to slay this unicorn, that we need a Brexiteer as PM. We don't need a Brexiteer as Prime Minister. We need someone who is committed to delivering Brexit.”
— Kevin Schofield (@PolhomeEditor) June 5, 2019
First up @michaelgove at Tory One Nation hustings:
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) June 5, 2019
❌got to deliver Brexit before general election
❌formally opens door to Brexit delay of weeks not months
❌wants to renegotiate backstop
❌dig at Boris from supportive MP: "It wasn't stuffed full of supporters like yesterday".
Tonight’s hustings follows a similar event last night. The Spectator’s Katy Balls was the only journalist allowed inside, as she chaired the meeting. Here’s her report.
Updated
Veteran parachutists are jumping over Normandy, 75 years since they did so as paratroopers on D-Day.
Veterans Harry Read, 95, and John “Jock” Hutton, 94, followed 97-year old fellow second world war survivor Tom Rice to descend upon Sannerville, in western France.
“It went perfect, perfect jump,” Rice said after his jump into roughly the same area, in fields of wildflowers outside Carentan, that he landed in on D-Day. “I feel great. I’d go up and do it all again.”
Rice jumped with the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division on that day 75 years ago, landing safely despite catching himself on the exit and a bullet striking his parachute. He called the 1944 jump the worst he had ever had.
Read and Hutton arrived hours later than expected after their plans became fraught with technical difficulties, which then delayed the clearance they needed to enter French airspace.
Speaking with reporters afterwards, Read said:
I feel good. My health is good and my mind is still ticking away very nicely. I thought the jump was brilliant. I just had thoughts of anticipation after looking forward to it. Everything is worth the wait. The jump was wonderful in every way. I couldn’t believe the drop was going to be postponed in any way because I had his assurance from God. If that had happened, I was going to be examining my faith. I don’t think I’ll do another jump again.
Updated
President Trump told Leo Varadkar that he was confident the Irish border situation would be fine after Brexit because some “good minds” were working on it. He also said that in Britain he had met some “very good people” who were heavily involved in Brexit. (See 5.55pm.) He did not say who these very good minds were, or what their solution to the border problem was.
But we do know that yesterday afternoon, at the US ambassador’s residence in London, he met the Brexit party leader Nigel Farage and the Tory Brexiters Iain Duncan Smith and Owen Paterson. All three claim that there is no reason why the Irish border should be a problem after Brexit, even in the event of no-deal. And Duncan Smith and Paterson have been heavily promoting the “alternative arrangements” border plan promoted by the Tory European Research Group, a new version of which was published by Steve Baker earlier today. (See 3.37pm.)
So it is possible that Farage, Duncan Smith and Paterson were the “good minds” whose plan for the Irish border has impressed Trump.
But what do other experts think? Since the new ERG paper was published by Baker today, various experts have been commenting. And they have been damning.
David Henig, director of the UK Trade Policy Project, has written a Twitter thread about it starting here. He concludes by saying the plan amounts to a “total refusal to face up to the real world”.
From Trump back to Brexit, and we have the treat of another paper from no-deal Brexiteers - "A Clean Managed Brexit" to be launched tomorrow.
— David Henig (@DavidHenigUK) June 4, 2019
Have they finally found the way forward?
Spoiler alert: No... 1/ pic.twitter.com/Pqf44tNVOg
And here is a Twitter thread from Steve Peers, a law professor. He says “anyone producing such dishonest [crap] in any other line of work would lose their professional reputation.”
This latest no deal Brexit paper is full of false or misleading statements. Surprise! I will supplement David's excellent comments with some comments of my own. https://t.co/TB46IjjQo3
— Steve Peers (@StevePeers) June 4, 2019
And here is a Twitter threat from Peter Foster, the Telegraph’s Europe editor.
So @SteveBakerHW has produced a 10-page 'no deal' manifesto - here's my report with analysis from @jdportes @SamuelMarcLowe @DavidHenigUK @MichaelAodhan
— Peter Foster (@pmdfoster) June 5, 2019
The plan is completely ludicrous - as others have attested - so what's the game? 1/threadhttps://t.co/rX6kcJsQVa
That is all from me for tonight.
My colleague Mattha Busby is now taking over.
Trump says Irish border issue will be 'fine' after Brexit because "good minds' working on it
This is what President Trump said when he spoke to reporters alongside Leo Varadkar, the Irish PM.
We will be discussing various things. Probably you’ll ask me about Brexit because I just left some very good people who are very much involved with Brexit, as you know. And I think that will all work out very well, and also for you with your wall, your border.
I mean, we have a border situation in the United States, and you have one over here. But I hear it’s going to work out very well ...
It is an honour to be in Ireland with my friend, and he is doing a great job as your prime minister.
Varadkar then explained that, actually, having a wall at the Irish border was precisely what he wanted to avoid. Trump accepted this. He went on:
I think you do, I think you do. The way it works now is good, you want to try and to keep it that way. I know that’s a big point of contention with respect to Brexit. I’m sure it’s going to work out very well. I know they’re focused very heavily on it.
In answer to a question about whether Brexit would be bad for Ireland, Trump said:
I think it should be good. The big thing is going to be your border, and hopefully that’s going to work out, and I think it will work out. There are a lot of good minds thinking about how to do it. And it’s going to be just fine. I think ultimately it could even by very, very good for Ireland. But the border will work out.
Updated
Here is a clip of President Trump talking to Leo Varadkar.
I will post the quotes in a moment.
Donald Trump has compared the post-Brexit Irish border with his own planned wall for the US border with Mexico.
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 5, 2019
Get the latest news and video here: https://t.co/iOm40vn1kt pic.twitter.com/ydzWv0UAS4
President Trump has arrived in Ireland where he is holding talks with Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach (prime minister) before heading off to his golf course. As the BBC’s Jayne McCormack reports, Trump claimed the border issue would not be a problem after Brexit.
“We love the Irish - it’s an honour to be here,” says Donald Trump. He says the US “has a border situation too”. Leo Varadkar says Ireland wants to avoid a hard border with Brexit, President Trump replies that “we do too... the border will work out”. @BBCNewsNI pic.twitter.com/7zOmXk1neN
— Jayne McCormack (@BBCJayneMcC) June 5, 2019
Labour-run Welsh government switches policy on Brexit to back staying in EU
The Labour-run government in Wales is now officially committed to remaining in the EU. It used to favour a soft version of Brexit (which is still the position of the overall Labour party in London) but now it has concluded that the option is no longer obtainable, and it is campaigning for remain. Jeremy Miles, the Welsh government’s Brexit minister, made the announcement in the Welsh assembly yesterday afternoon (when many of us were focused on Donald Trump). He explained that the European elections, and the events in the Conservative party, where a new leader is likely to push for a no-deal Brexit, had persuaded the Welsh government to change its mind. He told AMs:
The negotiations between the government and the opposition have broken down, destroyed by the jockeying for prominence of would-be Conservative leaders, and we know that there is no appetite in the parliamentary Conservative party for a form of Brexit that we had consistently advocated, one that retains participation in the single market and a customs union.
The prime minister is quitting and her deal is in tatters. It seems inevitable, given the bizarre process and the wholly unrepresentative electorate that will provide us with her successor, that in July we will have a prime minister who will demand, in a show of bravado, if nothing else, that the EU27 reopens negotiations of the withdrawal agreement. This will be rejected, and the government will set a course to a ‘no deal’ Brexit ...
We sought to reconcile the result of the 2016 referendum with the least damaging kind of Brexit, but that effort has now reached the end of the road.
The European elections have shown that the electorate remains profoundly divided, and, indeed, the split has widened, with many of those who voted for Brexit in the 2016 referendum now supporting no deal, and many, probably a majority, wanting us to remain within the European Union. Faced by this sort of binary choice, we are clear that, almost three years on from the referendum, and more than two years after we put forward ‘Securing Wales’ Future’, we as a government must recognise these realities and change course ...
So, as a government, we will now campaign to remain in the EU. And to make that happen, parliament should now show the courage to admit it is deadlocked and legislate for a referendum, with ‘remain’ on the ballot paper.
The Welsh government’s new stance has been welcomed by the Scottish government, which is also anti-Brexit. This is from Michael Russell, the Scottish Brexit minister.
Very welcome statement from my colleague @wg_CounselGen. Scotland & Wales now officially against #Brexit & Northern Ireland likely to be when / if Assembly re-convened: Welsh Government will now campaign to remain in the European Union | Wales - ITV News https://t.co/pvE54nCZuf
— Michael Russell (@Feorlean) June 5, 2019
Under devolution the Welsh Labour party is free to divert from policy set in London, but nevertheless this development will encourage Labour MPs who want the national party to commit to supporting remain in a referendum. At the moment Jeremy Corbyn remains committed to getting a better version of Brexit, not to stopping it.
(Thanks to philipphilip99 in the comments for flagging this up.)
Updated
Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, claims that, if elected Tory leader, he would be “the first prime minister to have been an entrepreneur”. He made the claim in a statement to the ConservativeHome website, responding to seven challenging questions it has set him.
Here is the relevant question and answer.
Q: There is a crisis of trust in the Tory party. And you are very much part of the party establishment – accomplished, long-serving, moderate, conventional. Are you the transformative leadership that the country needs right now?
A: People often confuse continuity with loyalty. Throughout my nine years in cabinet, I’ve always been a loyal team player, but as the first prime minister to have been an entrepreneur, I would take a very different approach. This is an exceptionally serious moment for our country. I think many of our members, supporters and the public are looking for an experienced leader with entrepreneurial flair to help us get the deal we need and look beyond Brexit.
Hunt would certainly not be the first PM to have had a successful career – Stanley Baldwin and Neville Chamberlain both spring to mind – but Hunt’s claim may be true if you define entrepreneur as someone who has set up a successful business.
The ConservativeHome challenging questions for Tory leadership candidates are good. They have also come up with some for Boris Johnson and for Michael Gove, although so far neither Johnson nor Gove has replied.
Updated
Steve Baker, the Tory Brexiter and deputy chair of the European Research Group, which is pushing for a harder Brexit, has published a new Brexit plan today. Called “A Clean Managed Brexit” (pdf), it is a new version of the standard Brexiter demand – an agreement with the EU without the backstop, with the UK resorting to no-deal if necessary, using “alternative arrangements” to avoid a hard border in Ireland.
But Northern Ireland businesses and academics have dismissed the paper as “more of the same” in relation to its plans to guarantee an invisible border between the region and the Republic of Ireland post Brexit. Aodhán Connolly, head of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, said: “If it was homework I would give it an F minus.”
He said their report showed no proper solutions for the border and failed to provide any detail on key issues including health checks on animals which are mandatory and must be done on the border under EU laws.
The EU has already indicated that milk from Northern Ireland could not cross over to the republic in a post-Brexit scenario unless there was a clear deal keeping regulations the same north and south of the border, something the DUP is implacably opposed to.
Updated
Lunchtime summary
- Rory Stewart, the international development secretary and a long-shot candidate for the Conservative party leadership, has said the Brexit policies being promoted by many of his rivals, such as Boris Johnson, would be “catastrophic” for the UK. His rivals were misleading voters, he claimed. Stewart is strongly opposed to a no-deal Brexit. But the Brexiters in the contest have said they would accept no deal and Johnson has said the UK must leave the EU by 31 October, with or without a deal. Stewart told the Emma Barnett Show on Radio 5 Live:
I’m afraid [other leadership candidates] are misleading themselves and others, and that’s going to be catastrophic, because the reality is that Europe is barely sitting through to the end of October.
Let’s take a candidate like Boris. He’s saying that he’s going to go to Europe, and he’s going to negotiate a new deal before October 31, and if he doesn’t get a new deal by 31 October he’s going to go no deal.
Anyone who knows anything about Europe can assure you there is not the slightest hope of getting a new deal through Europe by October 31. Not a hope.
- David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister and May’s de facto deputy, has said the NHS “is not and will not be up for sale” in trade talks with the United States. Speaking at PMQs, in response to a question from Labour’s Rebecca Long-Bailey, who was standing in for Jeremy Corbyn (quite successfully – see 2.16pm), Lidington said:
The prime minister has been very clear and she spoke for everyone in the Government and on this side of the House - when it comes to trade negotiations, the NHS is not and will not be up for sale.
Yesterday, at a news conference, President Trump said the NHS would be on the table in any trade talks with the UK. But in an interview broadcast this morning, he retracted that, saying:
I don’t see [the NHS] being on the table. Somebody asked me a question today and I say everything is up for negotiation, because everything is. But that’s something I would not see as part of trade. That’s not trade.
- Channel 4 has announced it is holding a Tory leadership hustings on Sunday week.
Debate fans - Channel 4 is to host the FIRST live Conservative leadership debate between the main candidates vying to become the next PM. Sunday 16th June. 18.30. 90 mins Channel 4. Presented by @krishgm Pls Rt - https://t.co/rGuNJwP4ZT
— Louisa Compton (@louisa_compton) June 5, 2019
- Steve Baker, the Tory Brexiter and deputy chair of the European Research Group, which represents Conservatives pushing for a harder Brexit, has said he will stand for the party leadership if colleagues ask him to. Asked about his intentions, he said:
I am in the hands of my colleagues ... If we get to the opening and closing of nominations on Monday and we collectively agree there must be somebody willing to do this, then I would be willing to be the person who gets nominated.
- Nigel Farage has said his Brexit party will not join the far-right Europe of Nations and Freedom Group in the European parliament. The ENF includes various far-right parties from across Europe including Italy’s the League, France’s National Rally and Austria’s Freedom party. Farage said:
Following a brief social meeting with a member of the ENF Group last week there has been much speculation, fuelled by that individual, that the Brexit party will join them in their European parliament group. I can confirm that this is not the case and that the Brexit party will not be joining the ENF group.
Updated
Rebecca Long-Bailey's PMQs debut
I was not covering PMQs as it happened because we were focusing on the D-day commemorations. That means I missed what colleagues tell me was a good PMQs debut by Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, who was standing in for Jeremy Corbyn.
Normally Emily Thornberry, the shadow foreign secretary, leads for Labour at PMQs when Corbyn is not there. But this week Corbyn gave the job to Long-Bailey. The party has not said why, but there is a suspicion that Thornberry (who has leadership aspirations) angered Corbyn’s inner circle by pushing support for a second referendum after the European election results further than they would like. And Long-Bailey, a protege of John McDonnell, has for a while now been seen as the Corbynites’ preferred candidate in the leadership contest that will take place when Corbyn retires. Giving her the PMQs slot will raise her profile.
That would have backfired if she had done badly, but she didn’t. This is what some journalists are saying about her performance.
From my colleague Heather Stewart
Long-Bailey did a nice job there: forensic in attacking government policy, but with a dash of vision, when she set out the case for Labour’s green industrial revolution.
— Heather Stewart (@GuardianHeather) June 5, 2019
From the BBC’s Norman Smith
For a first outing at #PMQs thought Rebecca Long Bailey did pretty well. Why not have a "surprise" front bencher every week ? #justsaying
— norman smith (@BBCNormanS) June 5, 2019
From my colleague Dan Sabbagh
Impressive debut from @RLong_Bailey at PMQS, taking on David Lidington arguing that 'climate change is an existential threat' with full support from the party's press operation. Shows how concerned Labour is to shore up its green flank. https://t.co/dsjY4Pxh2q
— Dan Sabbagh (@dansabbagh) June 5, 2019
From the Daily Mirror’s Pippa Crerar
Good debut performance from Becky Long-Bailey at despatch box. It’s a tough gig and she was wise to go on safe territory of climate change - she’s strong on the detail and there are lots of points to score against the Tories.
— Pippa Crerar (@PippaCrerar) June 5, 2019
From the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg
How did Rebecca Long Bailey perform at first time asking PMQs questions?
— BBC Politics (@BBCPolitics) June 5, 2019
"Decent job…maybe she made a smart choice by having her questions on her home turf” @bbclaurak
Political editor says “better joust” than Corbyn-May exchanges#politicslive https://t.co/HUYYmORN7f pic.twitter.com/RBsSaJbxY4
From the blogger Guido Fawkes (who never normally has anything positive to say about Labour MPs, especially Corbynites)
Solid performance from @RLong_Bailey at #PMQs
— Guido Fawkes (@GuidoFawkes) June 5, 2019
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From CBS’s Mark Knoller
After the D-Day Anniversary event, Pres and Mrs Trump offered thanks and respencts to some D-Day veterans. They also offered their farewell to The Queen. "It was a great honor to be with you," @POTUS told her. "Great woman. "Great, great woman," he said of her to the press pool.
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 5, 2019
Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister, has issued this statement about the D-day commemoration. She said:
It is a great honour to represent the people of Scotland at the commemorations marking the 75th anniversary of the D-day landings. Scotland owes a great debt of gratitude to all those who served during the second world war, especially to those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
It is important that current and future generations continue to learn of the events that took place on this day 75 years ago, so that we can strive to ensure that such conflict is never repeated. It is also important the generations to come understand and recognise that it is the actions of those who served that allow us to enjoy the freedoms we now take for granted.
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Here are some more pictures from the D-day event.
Photograph: Chris Jackson/AFP/Getty Images
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Theresa May is holding a series of bilateral meetings with world leaders at the D-day event. Downing Street said she had met her Polish counterpart, Mateusz Morawiecki, and was due to have talks with the French president, Emmanuel Macron, the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, and Canada’s Justin Trudeau. “The main theme of the talks today is about shared security,” a Downing Street spokeswoman said.
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Here is the “family photo” for leaders attending the D-day commemorations.
In the back row, from left to right: the Slovakian deputy prime minister, Richard Rasi; the Polish prime minister, Mateusz Morawiecki; the Canadian prime minister, Justin Trudeau; Luxembourg’s prime minister, Xavier Bettel; the Norwegian prime minister, Erna Solberg; the Belgian prime minister, Charles Michel; the Czech prime minister, Andrej Babis; the Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison; and the Danish ambassador to the UK, Lars Thuesen.
And in the front row, from left to right: New Zealand’s governor general, Patsy Reddy; the French president, Emmanuel Macron; Britain’s prime minister, Theresa May; Prince Charles; the Queen; the US president, Donald Trump; the Greek president, Prokopis Pavlopoulos; the German chancellor, Angela Merkel; and the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte.
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There were some reminders of historical details during the commemoration.
Many American troops were based in Portsmouth and other towns and cities across southern England.
A letter home from Private Arthur Pranger of the 86th Chemical Mortar Battalion dated 6 May 1944 was read out:
Dear Mom,
Somebody is always shoving a cup of tea in my fist. People even stop us on the street and invite us for tea and cake. The kids around here are always asking for chewing gum and candy. They can’t get that over here and everything is rationed. There’s hardly any automobiles here and everybody rides a bicycle.
The chief of the defence staff, General Sir Nicholas Carter, paid tribute to the tactical ingenuity that lead to the success of the Normandy landings:
The marvellous range of technology that helped to make the landings succeed and ensured that over two million men and half a million vehicles could be landed in the ensuing months included amphibious and mine clearing tanks, Mulberry harbours, gliders, undersea pipelines, self-heating soup cans, air-portable motor-bikes – all reflected British ingenuity and innovation at its best.
Flags from the 14 allied nations that took part in the Normandy Landings were displayed during the event. The flags are historically accurate for 1944 so in many instances were not the same as they appear today.
For example, the French flag displayed was the Free French Flag. Another example was the Canadian flag, which only adopted a maple leaf in 1965.
Music was provided by, among others, a 70-piece orchestra and a 90-strong choir. Hymn to the Fallen, composed by John Williams – the track that opens the film Saving Private Ryan – was played and the actor and singer Sheridan Smith performed the song made famous by Vera Lynn, We’ll Meet Again.
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Linda Spence, a university worker from Portsmouth who was carrying a home-made placard stating “Keep your tiny, groping hands off our NHS ‘Mr’ president”, tried to speak to one of the men who attempted to disrupt the anti-Trump protest in the centre of the town.
“I just asked him why he was so angry and then he just started shouting, and then his mate tried to grab my placard,” said Spence, who spoke to a man wrapped in a US flag seconds after he snapped a protest placard in two and waved part of it around.
He was saying that it was a disgrace that we were here and that we should be down at the D-day commemorations. I said that I would have loved to have been there but I felt it was important to protest and send a message in support of the NHS services that he and all of us use, and which could be under threat if Trump has his way in trade talks.
A lady in the crowd who (very calmly) tried to speak to some of the men who disrupted the anti Trump event.
— Ben Quinn (@BenQuinn75) June 5, 2019
“I asked him why he was so angry and he just started shouting” pic.twitter.com/s6M4VKv0cL
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One of the speakers at the D-day event was Sergeant John Jenkins MBE, 99, from Portsmouth, who was in the Pioneer Corps on D-day and landed on Gold beach on 8 June. He said:
I was 23 years old when I landed on Gold beach.
I was terrified, I think everyone was. I look back on it as a big part of my life.
I was just a small part in a very big machine.
Jenkins said he was honoured to be at the service along with other D-day veterans.
You never forget your comrades because we were all in it together.
It is right that the courage and sacrifice of so many is being honoured 75 years on. We must never forget.
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The events on the stage end with Sheridan Smith singing the wartime classic We’ll Meet Again.
Now an RAF flypast is taking place.
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The Queen is speaking now.
She says when she attended the 60th anniversary D-day event some people thought it would be the last event of its kind. But the wartime generation, “my generation”, is resilient, and she is delighted to be here.
She says 75 years ago hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors and airmen left these shores in the cause of freedom. At the time her father, King George VI, said what was required was more than courage; it was a revival of spirit.
She says many of those young people never returned.
It is with humility and pleasure, on behalf of the country and the whole free world, that she says thank you.
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The Portsmouth commemoration also paid tribute to the secret agents who worked behind enemy lines in the build up to D-day and to the French resistance.
Of the several hundred Special Operations Executive agents working behind enemy lines, 55 were women.
The French president, Emmanuel Macron, read the last letter of a young resistance fighter Henri Fertet, executed at just 16 years old:
My dear parents, I am going to die for my country. I want France to be free and the French to be happy …
The soldiers are coming to get me. I must hurry. My handwriting may look wobbly but it is just because I am using a small pencil. I am not afraid of death, my conscience is completely clear ... A thousand kisses. Long live France.
Some of those who survived appeared at the event. There was warm applause for a group of British veterans when they took to the stage.
A video was shown of Eugene Deibler, an American veteran who served as a sergeant in the 501st Airborne Regiment, and parachuted into Normandy at 01.30 on 6 June, behind Utah beach. He said he had never jumped in conflict before.
We did what we had to do. We jumped in there. I’m glad I did it, went from a boy to a man.
One note of disappointment – there are scores of unoccupied seats in the official commemoration event, which seems a shame. Some locals have expressed disappointment that they have been kept away because of the tight security.
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At the D-day commemoration the audience have just been watching an extract from Pressure, the play by David Haig about James Stagg, the chief meteorologist who advised General Dwight Eisenhower about the weather ahead of D-day.
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Amid the pomp and ceremony it was the stories of the real people who took part in D-Day that shone out during the commemoration in Portsmouth.
Theresa May read a letter from Captain Norman Skinner of the Royal Army Service Corps, written to his wife Gladys on 3 June 1944. The letter was still in his pocket when he landed on Sword Beach on 6 June. Skinner was killed the day after, leaving his wife and two young daughters. The letter read:
My thoughts at this moment, in this lovely Saturday afternoon, are with you all now. I can imagine you in the garden having tea with Janey and Anne getting ready to put them to bed. Although I would give anything to be back with you, I have not yet had any wish at all to back down from the job we have to do.
There is so much that I would like to be able to tell you. Nearly all of which you’ve heard many, many times. But just to say that I mean it even more today. I’m sure that I will be with you again soon and for good. Please give my fondest love to my Anne and my Janey. God bless and keep you all safe for me.
A telegram was shown on screen, accompanied by a voice over:
Dear Mrs Skinner, it is with the upmost difficulty that I write to offer you my most profound sympathies on the untimely death of your husband. All the time he had been under my command, he had done a grand job of work.
Piper Alastair Parks, who serves with 4 SCOTS, The Highlanders, 4th Battalion The Royal Scottish Regiment, read an extract from the autobiography of piper Bill Millins recounting his experience of playing on the Normandy beaches:
I jumped off the ramp as quickly as possible holding the bagpipes above my head, and landed in the water up to my waist ... I placed the bagpipes on my shoulder, blew them up, and started to play Highland Laddie as I waded the few yards to the beach.
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Here is the text of the letter read out by Theresa May. (See 12.15pm.)
Theresa May is now reading out a letter written by a Captain Skinner to his wife two days for before D-day.
In it, Skinner said this was a difficult letter to write. Anyone with imagination must worry about what will happen, Skinner said. He said he had had some lovely years with his wife. He could imagine his family in the garden. He would give anything to be with them, but would not back down from the job he had to do. He asked his wife to give his love to his children.
After May finishes, the text of a telegram later sent to Mrs Skinner announcing her husband’s death was read out.
Here is the translation of the letter from a French resistance fighter read out by Emmanuel Macron, the French president. (See 12.03pm.)
My dear parents, My letter is going to cause you great sorrow, but I have seen you so full of courage in the past that I do not doubt that you will remain courageous, if only out of love for me.
I am going to die for my country. I want France to be free and the French to be happy. I do not want France to be arrogant and the world’s leading nation but hard-working, industrious and honest.
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Scuffles broke out in the centre of Portsmouth today after groups of football casuals marched through a protest against the US president’s presence in the city during D-day commemorations.
A few dozen men marching behind a banner with the crest of Portsmouth Football Club at the centre of a Union flag chanted ‘scum, scum, scum’ as they arrived midway through speeches by trade unionists and others who had organised a gathering of a few hundred people in the city’s Guildhall Square.
Police stepped in as the men scattered and tried to square up to those in the protest, who broke into chants of ‘nazi scum off our streets.
Amid some pushing and shoving, one man with a US flag wrapped around his waist grabbed one of the protest placards and snapped after waving part of it around.
The group then adjourned to a pub as the rally continued with speakers evoking the sacrifice of veterans who had fought to liberate Europe from nazism.
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I will be focusing on the D-day commemoration for the next half an hour, and will pick up PMQs later.
In Portsmouth Emmanuel Macron, the French president, is now reading out a letter written by a French resistance fighter.
He starts by thanking the other countries on behalf of his nation.
Then he reads out the letter, in French. In it, the fighter says he does not fear death because his conscience is clear.
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President Trump, at 75th D-Day anniversary in Portsmouth, reads from FDR’s “Mighty Endeavor” World War II prayer pic.twitter.com/Oeq8LgMv4M
— Jonathan Lemire (@JonLemire) June 5, 2019
These are from my colleague Ben Quinn who is in Portsmouth.
A group of pro Trump football casual types have just arrived at the anti Trump protest on the centre of Portsmouth pic.twitter.com/zGGhZQ1w1a
— Ben Quinn (@BenQuinn75) June 5, 2019
A few scuffles braking out.. police stepping amid shouts of ‘nazi scum off our streets’ pic.twitter.com/YqPAb2u4R6
— Ben Quinn (@BenQuinn75) June 5, 2019
This guy has just grabbed a protestor’s placard and broke it up after waving the debris around pic.twitter.com/buvfLe0NKF
— Ben Quinn (@BenQuinn75) June 5, 2019
President Trump is speaking now at the D-day event. He is reading from a D-day prayer written by FD Roosevelt, the US president in 1944.
The FDR D-Day prayer from which Pres Trump will read today can be seen and heard at https://t.co/swiOJVB9mq
— Mark Knoller (@markknoller) June 5, 2019
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World leaders attending the D-day commemoration in Portsmouth include: the French president, Emmanuel Macron; the prime minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau; the US president, Donald Trump; Australia’s prime minister, Scott Morrison; the prime minister of Belgium, Charles Michel; the Czech Republic’s prime minister, Andrej Babis; the Greek president, Prokopis Pavlopoulos; Germany’s chancellor, Angela Merkel; the prime minister of Luxembourg, Xavier Bettel; the Dutch PM, Mark Rutte; Norway’s PM, Erna Solberg; Poland’s PM, Mateusz Morawiecki; and Slovakia’s deputy prime minister, Richard Rasi.
At the commemoration Trudeau has just read out the citation from the first Canadian to receive the Victoria Cross in the second world war, a soldier who led his men across a bridge under heavy fire saying “there’s nothing to worry about here”.
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16 nations commit to working constructively together in 'D-day proclamation'
The D-day commemoration is mostly ceremonial, but it does have a political edge to it. To coincide with it, Downing Street has got the 16 nations who are attending to sign something called the “D-day proclamation”.
Here is the text in full.
Seventy five years ago, our countries were about to embark on a decisive battle.
On 6 June 1944, 160,000 Allied troops landed at Normandy, signalling the beginning of the end of the war in Europe. Casualty figures on all sides were immense, with hundreds of thousands of soldiers, sailors, aviators and civilians killed or wounded in the days and weeks that followed.
We stand together today to honour the memory of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice on D-Day, and those many millions of men and women who lost their lives during the Second World War, the largest conflict in human history.
We affirm that it is our shared responsibility to ensure that the unimaginable horror of these years is never repeated.
Over the last 75 years, our nations have stood up for peace in Europe and globally, for democracy, tolerance and the rule of law. We re-commit today to those shared values because they support the stability and prosperity of our nations and our people. We will work together as allies and friends to defend these freedoms whenever they are threatened.
We commit to work constructively as friends and allies to find common ground where we have differences of opinion and to work together to resolve international tensions peacefully.
We will act resolutely, with courage and tenacity, to protect our people against threats to our values and challenges to peace and stability.
In this way, we salute the surviving veterans of D-Day and we honour the memories of those who came before us.
We will ensure that the sacrifices of the past are never in vain and never forgotten.
Mostly this is a conventional and rather bland restatement of democratic values. But the paragraph I’ve highlighted in bold about working constructively together “to find common ground ... and ... to resolve international tensions peacefully” can be seen as an attempt to nudge President Trump away from isolationism and back towards upholding what is described as the rules-based international order (RBIO).
The Queen delivered a similar message to Trump in her speech at the state banquet on Monday.
The 16 nations who have backed the D-day proclamation are: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America.
In Portsmouth the D-day commemoration event is just starting.
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Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, and Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, are both at the D-day commemoration.
Trump and the Queen arrive in Portsmouth for D-day commemoration
President Trump and his wife, Melania, have arrived at Portsmouth for the D-day commemoration.
And here is the Queen arriving.
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There’s a festival atmosphere in the public viewing area on Southsea Common ahead of the D-Day commemoration in Portsmouth.
Residents and visitors are separated from the official area by fences and walls and armed police survey are observing the scene from a temporary tower.
But people have brought in deckchairs and picnics and grabbed spots in front of the big screens that will relay the official commemoration event when it begins on the other side of the barricades.
There are burger stands and beer tents and merchandise stalls selling everything from souvenir mugs to fridge magnets and tea towels. Very British.
There are a few grumbles from local people that they are not going to see the Queen or Donald Trump in person because of the tight security. No sign of demonstrators on the common as yet.
A mile away from Southsea Common, some anti-Trump protestors are gathering in Portsmouth’s Guildhall Square. The idea is that they don’t want it to appear that they are protesting against the veterans.
One of the organisers, Simon Magurian from Portsmouth Stand Up To Racism, said:
Thousands of local people have signed a petition opposing his involvement. We are protesting against a racist who aligns with the far right. He supports the very forces women and men died to defeat.
Photograph: Dylan Martinez/Reuters
Donald Trump will be greeted by images of the baby blimp effigy of himself when he visits Portsmouth on the final day of his state visit, the Press Association reports. A campaign group which “hacks” advertising boards has plastered images of the balloon, which flew over Parliament Square on Tuesday, to bus shelters in the city. A Special Patrol Group spokesman said:
The Trump Baby has relentlessly trolled the president across the world, from London to Paris to Buenos Aires, and we wanted to make sure that he got a look-in at Portsmouth too. D-day is about commemorating the fight against fascism, but Trump is pursuing a dangerous far-right agenda and fanning the flames of hatred.
President Trump has been tweeting again about his state visit.
Could not have been treated more warmly in the United Kingdom by the Royal Family or the people. Our relationship has never been better, and I see a very big Trade Deal down the road. “This trip has been an incredible success for the President.” @IngrahamAngle
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2019
@IngrahamAngle is Laura Ingraham, a Fox News broadcaster.
Jeremy Hunt has had a one-to-one meeting with Donald Trump, a source close to the foreign secretary said. As the Press Association reports, the talks took place on Tuesday night, towards the end of the second day of the US president’s state visit. Trump is expected to meet fellow Tory leadership contender Michael Gove today and has already spoken by telephone to Boris Johnson.
Yesterday at this press conference Trump said he did not know what Gove was like. But in his interview with Good Morning Britain, Trump was more positive about Gove. He said:
I don’t know him. I met him last night [ie, Monday night] at the dinner for the first time. I thought he was very good. You have a lot of good people running. I was saying to the Queen last night, the choice of your next prime minister is very important.
On the subject of the Conservative leadership, here is the latest ConservativeHome tally of how many MP endorsements each candidate has. And here are the numbers.
Boris Johnson - 46
Jeremy Hunt - 32
Michael Gove - 29
Dominic Raab - 24
Sajid Javid - 17
Matt Hancock - 11
Esther McVey - 6
Mark Harper - 5
Rory Stewart - 5
Andrea Leadsom - 3
Penny Mordaunt, the defence secretary, has been giving interviews today ahead of the D-day commemoration. But she has been refusing to say whether she will enter the contest for the Conservative leadership. “I think, today, this is not about me or the Conservative party, it is about these amazing veterans. We should have the focus on them, please,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
Corbyn says D-day shows need to oppose 'forces of hatred'
Like Theresa May, Jeremy Corbyn will be missing PMQs today because he is attending the D-day commemoration in Portsmouth. D-day may be the only American-led invasion in history that he has endorsed. This morning he released this statement paying tribute to the people who took part in it. He said:
The troops that landed on the beaches of France 75 years ago showed unimaginable heroism. Many laid down their lives in the fight against fascism.
People will have heard the recent serialisation of Anne Frank’s Diaries on BBC radio. It was heart-breaking to hear her excitement and optimism about the Allied landings in Normandy, shortly before she was transported to Auschwitz, and then Bergen-Belsen.
It was a poignant reminder of the evils of Nazism, and why its defeat by the Allied forces was so essential for humanity.
We must not just commemorate those who fought, and died, but honour them by opposing the forces of hatred today.
Only by standing up to hate, oppression and war can we protect international cooperation and peace.
Jeremy Hunt, the foreign secretary, has released his Tory leadership campaign video this morning.
Take a look at my video and join our campaign at https://t.co/w9gQb4LCad pic.twitter.com/4pZTvd9zwK
— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) June 5, 2019
It is slightly reminiscent of a famous Conservative party election broadcast in 1992 which featured John Major returning to Brixton, where he grew up, and reminiscing about his modest upbringing there. At one point, Major wonders if a house he used to live in is still there and, as his car approaches it, declares “it is, it is”. Hunt’s “it is” moment comes at the start of the video, when he returns to the garage where he set up his publishing business 25 years ago. He explains:
Now that might look like any old garage but to me it actually means something because above that garage is where I set up my publishing business. And coming back here for the first time in 25 years it looks a bit small. That business actually grew to more than 200 people. But this is where I employed the very first one.
Unlike Boris Johnson and Michael Gove, his two main rivals, Hunt was a successful entrepreneur before he became an MP and he focuses on this in his video, claiming that this shows he has the skills needed to be PM. In the video he says:
If you want to make it [running a business], you’ve got to show leadership, negotiating skills and confidence. And that’s what we need to do as a country right now with the Brexit challenge that we face.
Trump falsely claims London crowds were supporting him ahead of D-day commemoration
It is the final day of Donald Trump’s state visit to the UK and he will join other world leaders for what is likely to be a sombre and moving event in Portsmouth to commemorate the 75th anniversary of D-day. But this morning ITV’s Good Morning Britain has been broadcasting an interview Trump did with Piers Morgan yesterday, and various important lines have emerged. As Rowena Mason reports, Trump has gone back on the comment he made in his press conference yesterday about how he would want access to the NHS to be part of a US-UK trade deal.
As Matthew Weaver and Kate Lyons report, Trump also revealed that Prince Charles spent 75 minutes longer than scheduled trying to convince him of the dangers of climate change.
In a tweet this morning Trump has also reverted to his habit of lying about the reception he has received on the streets in London. He has already twice claimed, falsely, that there were large crowds of people supporting him (see here and here) but now he is claiming that the “corrupt” media is suppressing the truth. Because it is so obviously a symptom of vanity, it it tempting to laugh, but disregarding the truth so blatantly is straight out of Orwell’s 1984.
I kept hearing that there would be “massive” rallies against me in the UK, but it was quite the opposite. The big crowds, which the Corrupt Media hates to show, were those that gathered in support of the USA and me. They were big & enthusiastic as opposed to the organized flops!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 5, 2019
Here is the agenda for the day.
8.30am: Matt Hancock, the health secretary and a Tory leadership candidate, gives a speech to the Policy Exchange thinktank.
9am: Esther McVey, the former work and pensions secretary and a Tory leadership candidate, holds a phone-in on LBC.
9.50am: Equality and Human Rights Commission chairman David Isaac and its chief executive, Rebecca Hilsenrath, give evidence to the Commons women and equalities committee.
11am: The Queen, Theresa May, Donald Trump and other world leaders attend the D-day commemoration event at Portsmouth.
12pm: David Lidington, the Cabinet Office minister, takes PMQs. Rebecca Long-Bailey, the shadow business secretary, is for the first time standing in for Jeremy Corbyn.
12.30pm: Steve Baker, the Tory Brexiter and deputy chair of the European Research Group, publishes a paper on Brexit.
2.15pm: Michael Gove, the environment secretary and a Tory leadership candidate, gives evidence to the Scottish affairs committee on post-Brexit agriculture.
4.50pm: Trump arrives at Shannon airport in Ireland, where he will hold talks with Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, before going to his golf course at Doonbeg where he will be staying the night.
5pm: Gove, Hancock, Jeremy Hunt and Dominic Raab speak at a private hustings organised by the One Nation group of Tory MPs.
As usual, I will be covering breaking political news as it happens, as well as bringing you the best reaction, comment and analysis from the web, although I will be focusing mostly on the D-day commemoration and developments in the Tory leadership contest. I plan to post a summary at the end of the day.
You can read all the latest Guardian politics articles here. Here is the Politico Europe round-up of this morning’s political news. And here is the PoliticsHome list of today’s top 10 must-reads.
If you want to follow me or contact me on Twitter, I’m on @AndrewSparrow.
I try to monitor the comments below the line (BTL) but it is impossible to read them all. If you have a direct question, do include “Andrew” in it somewhere and I’m more likely to find it. I do try to answer questions, and if they are of general interest, I will post the question and reply above the line (ATL), although I can’t promise to do this for everyone.
If you want to attract my attention quickly, it is probably better to use Twitter.
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