Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Priti Patel Joins Rebels As Theresa May's Brexit Challenge Mounts

Priti Patel MP, one of the most outspoken British politicians in favour of Brexit, joined fellow Brexiteers on Sunday (14) to mount a further challenge to prime Minister Theresa May's plans for a future trading arrangement with the European Union (EU).

Patel is among 63 Conservative Party MPs to sign a letter attacking the UK government over its Brexit forecasts and blaming May's team of leaking negative financial forecasts of the impact of Britain's exit from the economic bloc.


"Adopting a constructive and transparent approach would be in the national interest," says the letter, organised by the Economists for Free Trade group of Eurosceptic economists and former Brexit minister Steve Baker.

"The general public is battered and bewildered by conflicting predictions of the future path of the economy following Brexit, fuelling a growing suspicion that Whitehall is engaging in what is apparently known internally as 'policy-based evidence-making'," it notes.

The show-of-unity letter, addressed to UK Chancellor Philip Hammond, comes as one of its signatories – former Brexit secretary David Davis – openly called for a Cabinet uprising against May's Brexit strategy ahead of a crucial summit with the EU in Brussels scheduled for next week.

Writing in The Sunday Times, the former minister said the government's negotiating strategy had "fundamental flaws", arising from the "unwise decision in December to accept the EU's language on dealing with the Northern Ireland border".

May has suggested a temporary customs arrangement for the whole of the UK to remain in the EU Customs Union while the complicated Irish border issue is resolved.

However, Brexiteers like Patel and Davis suspect this could turn into a permanent situation, restricting Britain's freedom to strike future trade deals with other countries.

"This is one of the most fundamental decisions that government has taken in modern times. It is time for the Cabinet to exert their collective authority. This week the authority of our constitution is on the line," writes Davis, who stepped down from the UK Cabinet in July due to his opposition to May's Brexit strategy agreed by the rest of the Cabinet at her country residence of Chequers.

A few days later, he was joined by another vocal Eurosceptic minister, Boris Johnson, who stepped down as Foreign Secretary and has since issued a series of direct attacks on May's plans over the issue of Brexit.

In his newspaper article, David Davis also accuses the prime minister's aides of "incipient panic" in the face of Brussels’ demands and wrongly trying to cut out the Cabinet from the key decisions.

May now faces an onslaught from at least nine ministers wanting her to change direction when the Cabinet meets on Tuesday — with credible threats to resign from at least four. They are demanding a date be set to leave the Customs Union or a break clause, to be triggered in London, not Brussels.

Andrea Leadsom, the Leader of the Commons, is said to be "considering her position."

Scottish secretary David Mundell and Ruth Davidson, leader of the Scottish Tories, have also made clear they would resign if Northern Ireland faces new controls that separate it from the rest of the UK — because that would fuel the case for Scottish independence. In a further blow for the British PM, many anti-Brexit MPs who had voted to remain in the EU now plan to vote against her deal.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which supports the government as part of a pact to make up for the Tory government's lack of majority in the House of Commons, has warned May not to sign up to any deal that would see Northern Ireland remaining in the EU single market while the rest of the UK left.

Britain is set to formally leave the EU on March 29 next year after a 2016 referendum in favour of Brexit. Both sides are working towards a mid-November deadline for agreeing their so-called "divorce" arrangement, before they can formalise a future trading relationship by January next year.

The issue of the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which will become the UK's border with the EU, is one of the last remaining obstacles to achieving a divorce deal with Brussels.

A pre-agreed transition period is set to end in December 2020, following which, unless there is an agreement in place, the UK would exit the economic bloc without a deal – a scenario that has been painted as dire by experts.

More For You

Air India flight crash
Air India's Boeing 787-8 aircraft, operating flight AI-171 to London Gatwick, crashed into a medical hostel complex shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad on June 12.
Getty Images

Air India crash probe finds fuel to engines was cut off before impact

Highlights

 
     
  • Fuel to both engines of the Air India flight was cut off seconds before the crash
  •  
  • A pilot was heard questioning the other over the cut-off; both denied initiating it.
  •  
  • The Dreamliner crashed shortly after take-off from Ahmedabad, killing 260 people.
  •  
  • Investigators are focusing on fuel switch movement; full analysis may take months.

FUEL control switches to both engines of the Air India flight that crashed shortly after takeoff were moved from the "run" to the "cutoff" position seconds before the crash, according to a preliminary investigation report released early Saturday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Chinese vessel tracked in Bay of Bengal after disabling identification system

The Indian Navy and Coast Guard have consistently reported Chinese research vessel presence. (Representational image: Getty Images)

Chinese vessel tracked in Bay of Bengal after disabling identification system

A Chinese research vessel was detected operating in the Bay of Bengal near Indian waters while attempting to conceal its presence by disabling its Automatic Identification System (AIS), according to a report by The Economic Times, citing French maritime intelligence firm Unseenlabs.

The French company conducted a 16-day satellite-based survey tracking ships through radio frequency emissions. It monitored 1,897 vessels, with 9.6 per cent showing no AIS activity, indicating attempts to avoid detection. The survey raised concerns amid increased Chinese activity in the region.

Keep ReadingShow less
Asian-inspired garden earns
five awards at Hampton Court

(From left) Malcolm Anderson (RHS, head of sustainability) Clare Matterson (RHS director general), Lorraine Bishton (Subaru UK and Ireland, managing director) Andrew Ball (director, Big Fish Landscapes) Mike McMahon and Jewlsy Mathews with the medals

Asian-inspired garden earns five awards at Hampton Court

BRITISH Asians are being encouraged to take up gardening by a couple who have won a record five medals at the Royal Horticultural Society’s Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.

“It’s a contemporary reimagining of a traditional walled garden, highlighting the British and Irish rainforests,” said Jewlsy Mathews, who was born in Britain of parents from Kerala, a southern Indian state known for its lush vegetation.

Keep ReadingShow less
uk weather

Amber heat health alerts have been issued across several regions of England

iStock

England faces widespread heat alerts and hosepipe bans amid rising temperatures

Highlights:

  • Amber heat health alerts in place for large parts of England
  • Hosepipe bans announced in Yorkshire, Kent and Sussex
  • Temperatures could reach 33°C over the weekend
  • Health risks rise, especially for elderly and vulnerable groups

Heat warnings in effect as UK braces for another hot weekend

Amber heat health alerts have been issued across several regions of England, with temperatures expected to climb to 33°C in some areas over the weekend. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) activated the warning at 12 pm on Friday, with it set to remain in place until 9 am on Monday.

The alerts cover the East Midlands, West Midlands, south-east, south-west, East of England, and London. Additional yellow alerts were issued for the north-east, north-west, and Yorkshire and the Humber, starting from midday Friday.

Keep ReadingShow less
Essex ladybird invasion

One of the largest gatherings was filmed on a beach at Point Clear

Dee-anne Markiewicz / SWNS

Swarms of ladybirds invade Essex coastline amid soaring temperatures

Highlights:

  • Ladybird swarms reported across Essex and Suffolk coastal towns
  • Hot weather likely driving the sudden surge in population
  • Sightings include Point Clear, Shoebury, Clacton and Felixstowe
  • Similar outbreaks occurred in 1976 during another hot UK summer

Sudden surge in ladybird numbers across the southeast

Millions of ladybirds have been spotted swarming towns and villages along the Essex coast, with similar sightings stretching into Suffolk. Residents have reported unusually high numbers of the red and black-spotted insects, particularly near coastal areas, with the recent hot weather believed to be a major contributing factor.

One of the largest gatherings was filmed on a beach at Point Clear, a village near St Osyth in Essex, where the insects could be seen piling on top of each other on driftwood and plants.

Keep ReadingShow less