Brexit: European commission confirms it is considering extension – live news | Politics

Northern Ireland’s unionist parties have recalled the Stormont assembly today in a last-minute attempt to stop the decriminalisation of abortion from coming into effect, my colleague Daniel Avelar reports.

The region’s restrictive abortion laws are set to change at midnight on Monday after the Commons voted last July to bring reproductive rights in Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK.

This is the first time in nearly three years that the parliament in Belfast will meet, since legislators from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Féin nationalists failed to reach a power-sharing agreement after the devolved government collapsed in January 2017.

The recall follows a petition promoted by anti-abortion campaigners and signed by 31 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs), aiming to put abortion rights back in the hands of local politicians.

MLAs would need to form an executive before the midnight deadline to block the abortion reform, but that is highly unlikely as nationalist parties said their members would not attend today’s session.

Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, defended the recall, saying it would allow MLAs to “debate the issue” of abortion in Northern Ireland, while a Sinn Féin spokesperson called it a “pointless political stunt”.

As well as the decriminalisation of abortion, same-sex marriage is also due to become legal on Tuesday after a separate Westminster vote in July.

Here’s the full report from the Guardian’s Ireland correspondent Rory Carroll.

The Guardian’s Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, is in court in Edinburgh where Lord Carloway has rejected a call by the UK government to halt proceedings because the prime minister has met his legal requirements under the Benn act. (See my earlier post.)

The judge said he would continue with the case until it was clear that Downing Street had complied with the act in full – ie sought and, if it is offered, accepted a Brexit extension from the EU. A date for the next hearing is yet to be fixed.

Labour MP Lisa Nandy has said that she would support the withdrawal agreement bill (the WAB) at second reading. Speaking on the BBC’s Politics Live, she said MPs should be able to debate the substance of the bill and the terms on which we leave the EU before approving the deal (as per the Letwin amendment) and to do it the other way around (passing the meaningful vote before debating the WAB) was “holding the country to ransom” with the threat of no deal.

She said she would support the bill at second reading but that the big question was what comes next.

She tweeted this this morning:

The Brexit secretary, Stephen Barclay, is appearing at the Lords EU select committee, where he is talking about “scrutiny of Brexit negotiations”.

“I think the deal is a win, not just for the UK, but for the EU as well, who want to see the UK leave in a smooth and orderly way. And it was obviously frustrating, I think, for many of us on Saturday that we were not able to have the meaningful vote,” he said.

Barclay said MPs had already voted on a range of amendments through the indicative vote process and rejected them. He said the Letwin amendment represented a “moving of the goalposts” from the opposition claiming they were concerned about the prospect of no-deal Brexit to them saying the concern was now about wanting more time.

He keeps describing the withdrawal agreement as “the winding down arrangements” and stressing that there will be a lots of issues for MPs to debate when it comes to the “future arrangements”.

The Guardian’s Scotland editor, Severin Carrell, is in court in Edinburgh where Scotland’s most senior judge, Lord Carloway, and two other judges will hear allegations that the prime minister broke a promise he made to the court that he would not try to sabotage the request for an extension.

The UK government’s lawyers pledged in writing and in court this month that the prime minister would honour the provisions of the Benn act, seeking an extension to article 50 if he failed to get a Brexit deal passed by 19 October.

After losing a Commons vote on Saturday on delaying his deal, Johnson sent an unsigned copy of the letter required by the act but also sent another, personal letter to Brussels that asked EU leaders not to agree to an extension.

Lawyers for three anti-Brexit campaigners are expected to argue that these steps are a clear breach of the government’s promises to the court. If the three judges find Johnson is in contempt, he could theoretically face a fine or even jail.

Here’s Severin’s curtain raiser article. He’ll also be tweeting from court.

Lobby journalists are reporting that No 10 will pull the meaningful vote motion this afternoon if the Speaker allows amendments to it that render it “meaningless”. “There is no point in having a meaningless vote,” said the PM’s spokesman.

Another MP who previously backed a customs union is saying he would not support such an amendment this time.

My colleague Kate Lyons has this round-up of today’s papers. Some are angry at what they see as Labour’s attempts to – as the Daily Mail puts it – “cancel Brexit by sabotaging withdrawal legislation”.

The FT’s Sebastian Payne has a little bit more on how the afternoon could unfold.

Buzzfeed’s Alex Wickham has been doing the maths on which MPs could back an amendment for a customs union.

Damian Green, a Tory MP and former member of Theresa May’s cabinet, has said that he would not vote for such an amendment.

This is from the BBC’s political editor, Laura Kuenssberg. We should find out around 2.30pm if Bercow is likely to allow the “meaningful vote” this afternoon.

The government has confirmed that its Brexit bill, which enshrines the prime minister’s deal with the EU into UK law, will be published later today.

A press release from the Department for exiting the European Union reads:

This deal abolishes the backstop in the old deal. The Government put forward a reasonable compromise, based on the key principles of consent for the people of Northern Ireland, and the UK leaving the EU Customs Union whole and entire, which was agreed at European Council last week. The EU (Withdrawal Agreement) Bill puts those internationally agreed obligations into domestic law.

This week MPs will have the chance to pass this bill, to respect the result of the referendum and to leave with a deal on October 31 in an orderly and friendly way. MPs voted overwhelmingly to trigger Article 50 in 2017 to start the process of leaving the EU and supporting this bill is the final stage to make that happen. This will allow the country to move on and for the Government to return its focus to delivering on the people’s domestic priorities: investing in the NHS, tackling serious and violent crime, and levelling up funding on schools.

The Brexit secretary, Steve Barclay, is quoted:

MPs and Peers will today have in front of them a bill that will get Brexit done by October 31, protect jobs and the integrity of the UK, and enable us to move onto the people’s priorities like health, education and crime.

Hugo Dixon, an anti-Brexit campaigner, has written this piece of analysis, accusing Boris Johnson of “peddling untruths and spraying around promises”.

The SNP’s Joanna Cherry QC, who was involved in recent legal action aimed at forcing Boris Johnson to comply with the Benn act, has said she supports extending Brexit negotiations until the end of 2020 if needed for a second referendum.

Appearing on the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland, she was asked if she would back an extension until the end of next year. “Yes, I would,” she replied. “Because the current deal that’s been negotiated by Boris Johnson is immensely damaging to the British economy and particularly for Scotland.”

She pointed out that her party backed a second Brexit referendum at its autumn conference last year. “We need to get a government in place to deliver the referendum and I don’t see Boris Johnson’s government doing that,” she said. “The SNP has been very clear that Boris Johnson should be removed from office once an extension is obtained.”