UK politics - as it happened: Senior Tories tell Theresa May to listen to business as Jaguar Land Rover issues Brexit warning
Theresa May is facing pressure to heed warnings from business leaders on Brexit ahead of a crunch cabinet meeting where she will try to unite her warning ministers on EU exit terms.
More than 40 Tory MPs have written to the prime minister, urging her dismiss any potential Brexit deal "without our trading, enterprising and innovative businesses and their employees at its heart".
It comes as car giant Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) said a hard Brexit would hit its profits by £1.2bn, and insisted that it needs "greater certainty" to continue to invest and support more than 40,000 British jobs.
The warning follows similar statements from Airbus and BMW, and a wider sense of discomfort among among firms after Boris Johnson reportedly declared "f*** business".
Owen Paterson, a former Conservative minister, also told the Today programme that firms would be "better off" if the UK leaves the customs union as they will "have access to cheaper parts and components all around the world and European suppliers will be forced to compete".
Car giant Jaguar Land Rover has warned it urgently needs "greater certainty" on Brexit to continue to invest heavily in the UK and safeguard suppliers, customers and 40,000 British-based jobs.
The warning from the country's biggest carmaker follows similar statements from BMW and Airbus - and comes ahead of a crucial meeting of the Cabinet in Friday to finalise a White Paper on Brexit.
Tory former minister and eurosceptic Owen Paterson has offered a bullish defence in the wake of JLR's warnings.
He told the Today programme: "What is really vital is they will be better off if the government delivers on what the prime minister promised me in the Commons yesterday. “If we do leave the customs union, JLR will have access to cheaper parts and components all around the world and European suppliers will be forced to compete or they will lose JLR’s business. “All the studies show that the car trade is very robust at the moment, it’s very profitable and that will continue.”
Len McCluskey, general secretary of Unite, said: "Tens of thousands of decent jobs - the sort we will need more than ever outwith the EU - are being put at risk by a Government that places its survival, indulging narrow, extremist views, above the well-being of the people of this country. This is simply not acceptable.
"So I say this to the Tory party, our jobs are not yours to play Russian roulette with. Drop your red lines and secure a decent deal, one that is to the benefit of the working people of this country.
"And if you cannot agree to put people before your ideology then move over and let a party that will get on with it."
One of the major stories of the day is the Amesbury novichok poisoning. Sajid Javid, the home secretary is charing his first Cobra meeting this morning to look at how a Wiltshire couple was poisoned by a military grade nerve agent.
We are also running a liveblog on that, so you can follow developments here:
Theresa May is flying to Berlin in a last-gasp bid to win Angela Merkel’s support for her new “third way” plan for customs rules after Brexit, amid EU fears that it will be a smugglers paradise.
The details of what No 10 is calling the “facilitated customs arrangement” (FCA) were finally revealed, ahead of the prime minister jetting out for talks with the German Chancellor.
The proposal – which combines Ms May’s original plan for the UK to collect EU tariffs with smart technology to smooth the process – is certain to face Brexiteer criticism that the UK would remain under Brussels’ wing.
Transport minister Jo Johnson says nationalisation would be "no panacea" for the challenges on the railways and blames publicly-owned parts of the railway, such as Network Rail.
He was responding to criticism from shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald, who said he had to "step in and get a grip before our great railway hits the buffers".
David Davis has reportedly written to the prime minister over his fears on her 'third way' customs plan, which will be discussed by the cabinet on Friday.
In an eleventh hour letter, the Brexit secretary expressed his concerns that the EU would reject the idea outright as it is a fudge of her customs partnership plan with added technology, the Telegraph said.
Transport secretary Chris Grayling has sought to dismiss fears of a "bias" against northern regions over rail spending.
The Cabinet minister labelled the description of the government's commitment to projects in the North as a "total misnomer" before arguing that spending will be higher per head of population than in the South.
Ministers have been accused of "reneging" on commitments after failing to confirm plans to fully electrify the Manchester to Leeds route.
Timetable chaos has also caused major disruption for Northern rail passengers.
MPs have now moved onto the Urgent Question on Esther McVey's record on universal credit.
Frank Field, the veteran Labour MP asking the urgent question, asks the work and pensions secretary, to apologise for the three occasions on which she “dissembled” on the issue to MPs.
Speaker John Bercow calls him out but doesn't ask him to retract his comments. It is usually considered unparliamentary to accuse a fellow MP of lying.
McVey says there have been changes to the way universal credit is delivered, such as waiting days being abolished and changes to housing benefits.
The impact of those changes is still being felt, so these changes could not be taken into account, she said.
She say she and the National Audit Office (NAO) have come to 'very different conclusions' on the results. The facts are known but people can come to different conclusions.
McVey fully accepts that she got bits of it wrong and apologised yesterday.
Frank Field says her apology for one element was welcome but the NAO has criticised her for saying their report was out of date and showed that UC was working.
Ms McVey stands by her decision and says she came to the house of her own accord to apologise.
She says other people aren't so happy to come forward and apologise, and what was surprising is she came of her own volition.
Labour's Margaret Greenwood said she should be 'ashamed' for being forced to come to the house again after the NAO took the 'extraordinary step' of speaking out about this.
She says the report was 'damning' on universal credit but instead of addressing it, Ms McVey misled MPs on it.
Greenwood demands her resignation, saying if she misread the report so badly then she is not fit to do her job. If she lied, then she has broken the ministerial code.
SNP's Alison Thewliss says the NAO report 'blows a hole as wide as the Clyde' in the government's UC policy and the suggestion Ms McVey tried to hide this was a 'shameful state of affairs'.
Meg Hillier, chair of the public accounts committee, says she is 'staggered and disappointed' that McVey is still arguing about the detail of the report.
This is a 'constitutional issue' as the NAO is the government's independent watchdog, and this is is an 'unprecedented' moment, she said.
Ms Hillier asks McVey to say she has full confidence in the NAO and the controller.
McVey fails to say she has full confidence in the watchdog but says she will meet them next week.
