Top story: Corbyn tells MPs to vote deal down
Good morning this is Alison Rourke bringing you today’s briefing.
In a night of high drama in Strasbourg, Theresa May lauded what she said were the “legally binding” changes parliament wanted on the Irish backstop. She called on MPs to “come together” and back her deal in the Commons today. In an 11th-hour press conference with the European commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, May said she had made sure the EU could not trap the UK in the Irish backstop and a permanent customs union. Juncker issued a stark warning: “Let us speak crystal clear about the choice: it is this deal, or Brexit might not happen at all,” he said. “In politics sometimes you get a second chance, it is what we do with this second chance that counts because there there will be no third chance … There will be no further interpretation of the interpretation. No further assurances on the reassurances if the meaningful vote fails tomorrow.”
Jeremy Corbyn quickly shot down the deal, saying “negotiations had failed”. He said the deal “does not contain anything approaching the changes Theresa May promised parliament”. May will need to win over dozens of Eurosceptics and the DUP to have any chance of getting the vote through. ERG member and former Brexit minister Steve Baker told the BBC: “Even by the government’s own standards I think this falls very far short of what the government whipped us to vote for.”
You can read Jonathan Freedland’s take on the deal here – that, once again, May has tried to claim victory but the EU has conceded “next to nothing”. You can stay up to date with all the latest developments on our live blog and and you can see a full roundup of how the papers reacted here – from the Express pleading with MPs to “get behind THIS deal” to the Sun’s “Backstop from dead”.
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Boeing’s ‘mandatory changes’ – The US air regulator has told international carriers it will mandate design changes to the 737 Max 8 by April, while at the same time saying the planes were airworthy. Boeing says it will deploy a software upgrade across the fleet “in the coming weeks”. The announcements came as one of Brazil’s biggest airlines, GOL, said it would temporarily ground its seven Max 8 jets, following the crash of the Ethiopian Airlines jet on Sunday. Aeroméxico suspended use of its six aircraft, echoing a similar move by China, Cayman Airways and African carrier Comair. Argentina’s Association of Airline Pilots has ordered its members not to fly the Max series. The changes came as it emerged that six members of the same Canadian family died in the Ethiopian crash. They included two teenage girls, their parents and grandparents.
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Catherine Shaw – A body has been found in the search for missing British backpacker, Catherine Shaw, in Guatemala. Formal identification has not taken place, but a statement on behalf of the family said it was believed to be that of Shaw, 23, and asked for people to respect the family’s privacy. Shaw, from Witney, Oxfordshire, had been staying with a friend in San Pedro on Lake Atitlán, 45 miles west of the capital, Guatemala City. She was last seen on 4 March and was reported missing the following day.
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‘He’s just not worth it’ – Nancy Pelosi has come out against impeaching Donald Trump, saying it would be too divisive without “compelling and bipartisan” rationale. It was Pelosi’s most direct comment yet on Trump’s possible impeachment, a topic she has dealt with cautiously as it carries the potential to sharply split Democrats and the public ahead of next year’s White House and congressional elections. But Pelosi, in an interview with the Washington Post, added Trump was “not fit to be president”, adding he was “ethically unfit, intellectually unfit, curiosity-wise unfit”.
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‘Serious psychological suffering’ – Half of the children in England tasered by police, and a third of those restrained using spit hoods are black or from other minority ethnic groups, according to figures obtained by the Children’s Rights Alliance for England under freedom of information. Their report showed 51% of children tasered in England are from a minority background, rising to about 70% in London – where black children alone accounted for 54% of incidents. Across England, 34% of children bound with spit hoods were from ethnic minorities. In London this figure rose to 72%. The alliance’s director, Louise King, said the rise in use of tasers and spit hoods was “alarming” and can “cause serious psychological suffering as well as physical harm and even fatalities”.
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Storm Gareth – Forecasters have issued a yellow weather warning and cautioned of possible travel disruption and power cuts when Storm Gareth hits later today. Strong winds are expected across almost all of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, as well as parts of Scotland, with gusts up to 60 mph across Northern Ireland during the evening rush hour. “Winds will gradually ease during the afternoon,” said the Met Office’s chief meteorologist, Paul Gundersen.
Today in Focus podcast: Will Brexit be decided today?
Theresa May returns to parliament today after a last-ditch dash to Strasbourg to win fresh concessions on her deal. So will the deadlock finally be broken today? Daniel Boffey in Brussels and Sonia Sodha in London explain how the process could now pan out. Plus: environment editor Matthew Taylor on how to reduce your exposure to air pollution.
Lunchtime read: What animals can teach us about politics
Decades of studying primates has convinced Frans de Waal that animal politics are not so different from our own – and even in the wild, leadership is about much more than being a bully. While Donald Trump’s antics against his male rivals may involve him puffing himself up, lowering his voice and insulting opponents with demeaning nicknames, in what could equate to a male chimp in a hypermasculine body language contest, not all strong men rise to the top in the chimpanzee community.
Some smaller males, using their ability to garner support in the group to build their power base, end up as the alpha male. Primates are made to be social De Waal says, made to care about one another and made to get along, and the same applies to humans. He says there’s much to learn from primate communities about how politics plays out: “Civilisation does all sorts of great things for us … It works with what we have to offer, including an age-old capacity for peaceful coexistence.”
Sport
Zinedine Zidane has made a surprise return as manager of Real Madrid, less than a year after he walked out on the Spanish giants. Announced as the replacement to Santiago Solari, the Frenchman said he was “happy” and “looking forward to it”. As Sid Lowe writes, “Less than a year since he walked out, insisting that this was a ‘see you later’ not a ‘goodbye’, he has walked back in again.”
UFC star Conor McGregor has been arrested in Florida, charged with strong-armed robbery and criminal mischief, after an alleged altercation with a fan. McGregor’s lawyer said his client “was involved in a minor altercation involving a cell phone”.
Manchester City have announced the club will set up a “survivors scheme” offering compensation packages to victims of convicted paedophile Barry Bennell.
And, the sister of Kelly Catlin, the three-time cycling world champion who has died at the age of 23, says her sibling suffered a concussion in the months before she killed herself.
Business
Brexit uncertainty is prompting more UK firms to prepare for job cuts. In an indication that Britain’s long job recovery is gradually running out of steam as Brexit nears, IHS Markit said employers’ staff-hiring intentions sank to a six-year low in February. A separate survey of more than 2,000 firms by the employment agency ManpowerGroup found that growing numbers of companies were preparing to cut jobs across the country.
The pound meanwhile jumped in Asian trading off the back of the PM’s Brexit announcement. Sterling, which had risen ahead of the talks between May and Juncker, extended gains in the hope it was enough to persuade rebel MPs. The pound was up 0.7%, buying $1.324 and taking its gains for two days to more than 1.6%. The pound was buying €1.173.
The papers
Most of the front pages feature pictures of the prime minister and news of her talks in Strasbourg. The Daily Mail, the champion of Theresa May, is tentatively hopeful about the deal being done, featuring a picture of Michel Barnier bowing over May’s hand and the headline: “Sealed with a kiss?”.
The Guardian also asks a question: “May secures ‘improved’ deal – but will it be enough?” The FT highlights the 11th-hour nature of the deal: “May flies to Strasbourg in final bid to avert defeat over Brexit”. The Telegraph feels positive with: “May keeps deal afloat after last-minute Strasbourg dash”, as does the Times, which reports “May claims victory in Brexit backstop talks”. The Express orders MPs: “Now get behind this deal and let’s unite Britain”. And the Sun says May’s deal is “Backstop from dead” and the i calls it “May’s last throw of the dice”.
The Mirror doesn’t lead with the Brexit news, instead featuring a story about calls for the Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, which was the make of plane that crashed in Ethiopia on Sunday, to be taken out of service: “Ground them”.
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• This article was amended on 12 March 2019 because an earlier version misnamed the former Brexit minister Steve Baker, as Steve Barclay. This has been corrected.
