Boris Johnson news: Ireland government says it ‘cannot possibly’ accept PM's Brexit plan, as he faces fresh Jennifer Arcuri claims

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Simon Coveney says Ireland 'cannot possibly' support Boris Johnson's Brexit plan

Boris Johnson’s government has said the EU must enter 10 days of “intensive discussions” by the weekend, as the PM seeks backing for his Brexit proposal. But European Parliament’s Brexit steering group and the Irish government labelled them unacceptable.

Jean-Claude Juncker spoke to Leo Varadkar about Mr Johnson's latest Brexit proposals on Thursday, and a European Commission statement later reiterated yesterday's immediate response to their release - thanks for this, but it needs work.

"The Withdrawal Agreement must have a legally operational solution now, and cannot be based on untried arrangements that would be left to negotiation during the transition period," the statement added.

Opposition parties also reacted with hostility. Labour warned the proposals put the Good Friday Agreement in jeopardy, while the SNP and Lib Dems claimed they were “designed to fail” and push the country towards a no-deal exit.

Also on Thursday, Mr Johnson was hit by fresh claims over his relationship with Jennifer Arcuri, with a former aide alleging the PM asked for his friend to be included in a trade trip to Israel while he was mayor of London.

In Northern Ireland, the Belfast High Court ruled that the country's abortion restrictions breached the UK's human rights law. Sarah Ewart, who was forced to travel to England to terminate her pregnancy in 2013, brought the case. “It feels like a weight is lifted off my shoulders. It has been a long journey," she said.

Key Points

• Johnson tells Commons he's trying to 'bridge a chasm'
• Ireland's deputy leader says 'cannot possibly' agree to Brexit plan
• European Parliament will veto UK proposals
• Extinction Rebellion activists spray fake blood on Treasury

[3 October 2019 20:04 · Jon Sharman]

It’s not easy to make sense of the current furore about antisemitism and the left. But it may be that a fundamental part of the explanation is quite simple, writes Jack Shamash.

At a meeting of the synagogue that I attend – one of the largest in north London –  members were asked to hold up their hands to discuss which factors were the most important in promoting their sense of Jewish identity. A large number put up their hands when Israel was mentioned. Similarly, the Holocaust was seen as very important as was antisemitism. Jewish ritual and practice was not, relatively speaking, an important factor.

It is a small sample, and it comes at a time when antisemitism is rarely out of the news, but it did get me thinking.

[3 October 2019 20:10 · Jon Sharman]

First, the good news for Boris Johnson. His long-awaited Brexit plan would probably be approved by the Commons. That would be quite a feat as it includes many elements of Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement, which was rejected three times by majorities of 230, 149 and 58, writes Andrew Grice.

But now the bad news: it is very unlikely to be put to a Commons vote in its current form because the EU looks set to reject it.

Brussels is wary of dismissing it out of hand, knowing that some Johnson allies cannot wait to start blaming the EU for a no-deal exit. But the proposal for some customs checks, even though away from the Irish border, is still considered “totally unacceptable”, one Brussels insider told me.

[3 October 2019 20:17 · Jon Sharman]

University College London's Constitution Unit research group has suggested that Boris Johnson's desire for a Queen's Speech this month risks embarrassing the monarch a second time. The first, of course, being the Supreme Court ruling that called her order to prorogue parliament, handed down on his advice, unlawful.

Professor Robert Hazell writes: "If it is delivered in mid-October, and is swiftly followed by an election in November, then the Queen’s Speech will be not so much the government announcing the legislative programme for the next session, but more of an election manifesto. The Queen will have been used to make a Conservative party political broadcast."

Read more here.

[3 October 2019 20:37 · Jon Sharman]

I have become increasingly concerned with the way Housing Associations are treating elderly and vulnerable residents, including those with mental health issues. From my casework, it appears that the situation has deteriorated further since the EU referendum, with housing associations merging together to form conglomerate companies that are less client focused., writes Rabina Khan.

Are they preparing for Brexit?

In February this year, Fiona MacGregor, chief executive of the Regulator of Social Housing, wrote to English associations urging them to stress test the potential impacts of a no-deal Brexit and put mitigation strategies in place.

The letter advised that six key risks should be taken into consideration, including deteriorating housing market conditions; interest, inflation and currency risk; access to finance; availability of labour; access to materials and components and access to data.