Boris Johnson news: PM insists he can do new Brexit deal despite admitting EU leaders refusing to ‘change their position’
UK on 'almost inevitable path to no-deal Brexit', warns Sturgeon after first meeting with PM
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Boris Johnson secretly wants a no-deal Brexit, Nicola Sturgeon has claimed after his first meeting with Scotland’s first minister.
The new prime minister faced a frosty reception north of the border, with Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, having warned about the impact of his Brexit policy.
He arrived at Bute House, Ms Sturgeon’s official residence in Edinburgh, to boos from a crowd of independence campaigners and pro-EU demonstrators gathered across the street.
Mr Johnson will also travel to Wales and Northern Ireland later in the week as part of a whistle-stop UK tour designed to show he is a “passionate believer” in the union.
But following talks with Ms Sturgeon, the first minister warned Mr Johnson’s government had set the country on an “almost inevitable path to a no-deal Brexit” and was “dangerous” for Scotland.
Boris Johnson's cabinet: Who's in and who's out
Show all 40She said: “I think that this is a government that is pursuing a no-deal strategy, however much they may deny that in public.
“If he were in this room right now, he would deny this vehemently, but I think he wants a no-deal Brexit.”
Downing Street insisted the government’s preference was to negotiate a new Brexit deal, but admitted the EU was refusing to budge on the Northern Ireland backstop and said “the UK will be leaving the EU on October 31st come what may”.
A Number 10 spokesman added Mr Johnson would “work tirelessly to strengthen the United Kingdom and improve the lives of people right across Scotland”.
This live article has now ended. Here’s how we covered developments as they happened:
Welcome to The Independent's live coverage from Westminster.
Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, admitted earlier this morning that the government was looking at the option of imposing direct rule in Northern Ireland in the event of a no-deal Brexit
The foreign secretary and Mr Johnson's de facto deputy, said senior ministers were looking "very carefully" at whether legislation would be needed for the government to take direct control of the region.
Boris Johnson is in Scotland today, where he will announce a £300m funding pot for communities in the devolved nations.
Speaking before his visit to a military base, Mr Johnson called for a renewal of "the ties that bind our United Kingdom".
"Our union is the most successful political and economic union in history.
"We are a global brand and together we are safer, stronger and more prosperous," he said.
But he could face a difficult meeting with Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson, who has said she will not support a no-deal Brexit and referred to her referendum campaign TV clash with Mr Johnson.
She used a Mail On Sunday column to say: "When I was debating against the pro-Brexit side in 2016, I don't remember anybody saying we should crash out of the EU with no arrangements in place to help maintain the vital trade that flows uninterrupted between Britain and the European Union."
In an interview with BBC Breakfast, Scottish Finance Secretary Derek Mackay was sceptical of Mr Johnson's visit.
The SNP frontbencher said: "We feel that Boris Johnson is just the bluff and bluster and his premiership will just represent that, but with substantial and significant damage to the economy of the whole of the UK and Scotland.
"But if we're to have a serious conversation then he has to respect Scotland, how Scotland has voted, what our interests are, and respect what we're saying and that is to avert Brexit. And particularly a no-deal Brexit.
"That's the primary issue before us right now and it would do Boris Johnson as prime minister well to listen.
"Theresa May visited, it didn't make much difference, she didn't listen to the first minister terribly much, and maybe Boris Johnson will be different but I don't think so.
"He's even coming up to face a fight with his own party - it tells you how split they really are.
"We have tried to compromise within the UK but even the announcements today are totally unimpressive.
"They are recycled and they'll do nothing to shore up his position as he faces off the criticism even from the Scottish Conservatives."
Boris Johnson has unveiled a special Brexit cabinet committee tasked with handling the UK’s preparations for a no-deal exit from the EU – now considered the government’s “No 1 priority”.
The prime minister told his cabinet during a Sunday conference call the new group will meet daily and direct operations from the Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms (Cobr) – typically used by ministers for emergency responses.
It will convene for the first time on Tuesday, consist of a “tight” number of ministers and will be chaired by Michael Gove, who was tasked last week of overseeing no-deal Brexit plans in his role at the Cabinet Office.
More here:
Vauxhall’s French owners have threatened to move production out of its factory in Ellesmere Port if a no-deal Brexit makes it unprofitable.
PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares said the firm had identified an “alternative” plant in Europe to make future Astra cars “if the conditions are bad”.
His warning was issued as Boris Johnson set up a Brexit cabinet committee to prepare for crashing out of the EU without a deal.
More here:
Prime minister Boris Johnson is to meet Nicola Sturgeon, the Scottish first minister, later in Edinburgh - where he can be assured of a robust conversation.
Ahead of the meeting, Ms Sturgeon said: "The people of Scotland did not vote for this Tory government, they didn't vote for this new prime minister, they didn't vote for Brexit and they certainly didn't vote for a catastrophic no-deal Brexit which Boris Johnson is now planning for.
"Boris Johnson has formed a hard-line Tory government with one aim - to take Scotland and the UK out of the EU without a deal.
"Scotland has been ignored throughout the Brexit process and it is now time for everyone who cares about the future of Scotland to come together to chart our own course and say to the Tories - stop driving our country towards disaster."
Rory Stewart just might be the leader we need in the war against no-deal Brexit ‘by any means necessary’, writes Matthew Norman for The Independent.
He says: "Of all the potential opposition candidates in view, Stewart’s charm, brains, honesty and cross-party appeal establish him as best suited to head the hurried campaign."
Read his column here:
Opinion: Boris Johnson once called me a 'shirt-lifter' - decades later, has he built an anti-LGBT+ cabinet?, asks Jonathan Cooper
A press officer for the Brexit Party has denied that the party's campaign bus had been "hijacked", saying a photo of the vehicle in a ditch in Wales was simply a result of a "mechanical glitch".
They said:
"It wasn't a publicity stunt, no-one had hijacked it, it wasn't Ukip stealing it and abandoning it.
"I've heard some great stories - unfortunately it was just a breakdown."
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