Philip Hammond accused of undermining Brexit as Treasury denies resignation threats Philip Hammond is facing accusations of attempting to “undermine Brexit” by pushing for delays to Cabinet measures designed to control immigration. The Chancellor has been criticised by Cabinet colleagues for “arguing like an accountant seeing the risk of everything” rather than pressing ahead with plans for Brexit. – Daily Telegraph Brexit-supporting ministers, however, are impatient with what they claim to be a failure to make more progress. They say that Mr Hammond is not following Theresa May’s instruction that government “get on” with Brexit. They compare him unfavourably with Ms Rudd, a strong backer of remaining in the EU whose department is putting forward ideas. Mr Hammond’s aides said reports that he might resign were “nonsense”, adding: “There is no issue. Things are working perfectly well.” – The Times (£) Treasury forced to deny Philip Hammond has twice threatened to resign over Brexit clashes with PM – The Sun Philip Hammond must reassure financial markets and commerce about the government’s economic direction. The prime minister should back him – The Times (£) leader Chancellor must boost investment and end tax raid on business if economy is to thrive post-Brexit, says BCC – Daily Telegraph Government considers paying billions into EU budget after Brexit In a move likely to upset many Conservative Eurosceptics, Mrs May has not ruled out making future payments to the EU to secure privileged access to the single market. Finance is among the sectors most likely to benefit in any deal that recognised the “equivalence” of regulatory regimes. – FT (£) Remoaning MPs will try to delay leaving EU in ‘betrayal of voters’ Yesterday Mr Clegg admitted that there is a plot involving him and ex-Labour leader Ed Miliband joining forces with shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer and Tories Nick Herbert, Anna Soubry and Stephen Phillips to renew calls for MPs to be given a vote before the Government can trigger Article 50. He also admitted that if MPs voted against the Government’s plans then the Prime Minister would be forced to pause the official withdrawal process, which is meant to happen before the end of March….He added: “Yes, and by the way that would be a very good thing because I think Theresa May has made already a fundamental tactical error by saying that she’s going to trigger Article 50 in March of next year.” – Daily Express Waiting until the [German elections] would force the PM to wait until at least November 2017 – meaning it would be late 2019 before Britain formally cut ties with the EU. Furious Cabinet Minister Priti Patel immediately claimed Mr Clegg was “using Parliament as a vehicle to subvert the democratic will of the British people”. And she was supported by Tory backbenchers who urged the ex-Deputy PM and Europhile MPs to respect the Referendum result from June 23. – The Sun Brexit debate in parliament would give game away to Brussels – The Guardian Boris Johnson defends his secret pro-EU column, calling it ‘semi-parodic’ Boris Johnson claimed the secret column he wrote urging Britain to stay in the European Union two days before declaring himself as a Brexit supporter was “semi-parodic”. The Foreign Secretary defended the piece and told ITV News he had been “wrestling” with the debate and wrote it after laying out an argument “in favour of leaving”. – ITV News Boris Johnson vs Boris Johnson: Brexit arguments for and against – Sky News Johnson was assured that pro-EU article would not be made public for “a year or two” – The Times (£) Michael Gove defends Johnson over pro-EU column – Daily Mail City of London’s reliance on EU ‘passport’ exaggerated, says Open Europe Britain needs to focus its efforts on the banking sector when negotiating new financial trading terms with the European Union as the benefits of unfettered access across the industry as a whole have been overplayed, think tank Open Europe said in a report on Monday. Open Europe, which campaigned for reforming the EU and adopted a neutral stance in the UK’s EU referendum in June, said a broad strategy across the whole financial sector would lack credibility. – Reuters Clegg claims ‘hard Brexit’ will lead to 22% EU food tariffs Without a trade deal or interim arrangement, the UK’s exports to the EU would be subject to the latter’s terms at the World Trade Organisation. Those specify average tariffs of 2 per cent on non-agricultural products, but 22.3 per cent on agricultural products, Mr Clegg said. – F.T. (£) ‘Chocolate, cheese and wine’ to be hit by hard Brexit – Sky News Nicola Sturgeon wants Scotland to stay in European single market even if rest of UK leaves Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, Ms Sturgeon said: “We are going to put forward proposals, that we would hope that the UK Government would be prepared to listen to, that would allow Scotland to preserve its place in the single market and preserve aspects of its relationship with the EU.” – The Sun Soft Brexit will end plan for independence vote – The Times (£) Scotland set to call Independence referendum in the next 3 years – The Metro Almost half of Britons think Scotland will leave UK within a decade – Sky News Let Nicola Sturgeon have her referendum – and find out that a Hard Brexit is better than a Hard Independence – Brian Monteith in City A.M. Irish leaders fear Brexit will bring economic disaster At the moment all Irish exporters, both north and south of the border, are grappling with short-term and long-term challenges. “There isn’t anybody in Ireland that has not been touched in some way by this. If you’re not an exporter, then you’re likely to be a supplier to an exporter. The effect of the currency slump is very serious,” said John McGrane, director general of the British Irish Chamber of Commerce. – The Guardian Martin McGuinness calls for special EU status for Northern Ireland – The Guardian Consumers in Northern Ireland shrug off Brexit with most confidence in UK – News Letter Irish shoppers head north of the border to snap up sterling deals – The Times (£) Rising inflation to hit consumers until 2018, forecasters say “CPI inflation should jump up in September, and looks set to rise quickly over the coming months,” said the consultancy Capital Economics in a note to clients predicting a 1% inflation reading for September. “A rise in September looks inevitable. The drop in sterling and rise in dollar oil prices has seen fuel prices at the pumps rise by over 1% in September.” – The Guardian Crisp maker Tyrrells, undeterred by Brexit, to create hundreds of new jobs Tyrrells, the English maker of hand-cooked crisps, is to create hundreds of new jobs following its takeover by US food firm Amplify Snack Brands, shrugging off Brexit fears in the process. The company’s managing director Mike Hedges told the Press Association that the up-market crisp maker is poised for a growth spurt following the £300 million deal… Mr Hedges also brushed aside any fears that Britain’s decision to quit the European Union would take a bite out of sales. – Express & Star Paul Goodman: Leave won the battle, but could lose the war The campaigning of the Remain coalition is unlikely to stop Brexit – for once Article 50 is moved, it is hard to see how the process will be halted. Rather, the danger is that it will gradually eat away at the authority of the Government – emboldening the small number of Conservative MPs who wish the Prime Minister no good, and providing cover for rebellions on a mass of other issues. Paul Goodman on ConservativeHome Anton Muscatelli: Here is a quick fix for our Brexit dilemmas Britain’s best negotiating stance is to suggest to the EU that the current arrangements between the EEA and the European Free Trade Association (EFTA, whose members are Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) could be seen as a stepping stone for the UK. In my opinion, the process of leaving the EU should end there. But if the Government seeks to take Brexit beyond membership of the EEA, this could be an interim position on the path to a more bespoke agreement. – Anton Muscatelli in the Daily Telegraph Christian May: Theresa May is angering both Leavers and Remainers The PM may be bending over backwards to keep Nissan in Sunderland, but what about keeping investment banks in London? That may be a blunt comparison but there is growing unease in the City that the PM and her Brexit minister David Davis are not sufficiently interested in protecting and defending the UK’s financial services industry. Using her formative months to attack corporate culture and high pay, while simultaneously indulging in UKIP-style rhetoric on immigration, only adds to the Square Mile’s sense of nervousness. Without a change of a tack, the PM may achieve the unusual feat of uniting pro-Remain and many pro-Leave advocates against her. – Christian May in City A.M. Patrick Hosking: Playing it safe may mean giving Brexit Britain a very wide berth Britain has been a great place to invest and expand. But right now no multinational in its right mind, whether from the United States, Japan or continental Europe, is going to weigh up our virtues independently of the Brexit question. This matters to Britain. Few countries have been so successful in attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) as the UK, or are so dependent on it continuing. – Patrick Hosking in The Times (£) Nadhim Zahawi: The claim that Brexit-set Britain will be a racist country is contemptible. And I’m living proof that it isn’t true We cannot allow this myth of Britain accepting intolerance, racism or xenophobia to go unchallenged. Not only is it not true, but it undermines the ability to challenge real threats to freedom and equality when they actually do arise, whether in Europe or at home, by making the desire to have domestic control over all of our laws in some way comparable to actual intolerance. We must be able to challenge racism, but when everyone is challenged then no one is – the power of condemnation is weakened and wasted. We should not and cannot cry wolf at Brexit. – Nadhim Zahawi for ConservativeHome Brexit comment in brief Time for us to set the ignorant Remainers straight – Iain Duncan Smith for The Times (£) Red Box It’s not the Baby Boomers who are to blame for Brexit, it’s the Top Gun generation – John Jenkins in The Independent Let the pound fall and the economy rise – Larry Elliott in The Guardian Why we should celebrate the fall of pound – and keep it low – Roger Bootle and John Mills for the Spectator’s Coffee House blog Brexit news in brief Meet Keir Starmer – the Brexit opponent making Labour heard on Europe – FT (£) BBC staff get ‘Brexit bonus’ as pension payouts soar – Daily Telegraph London consumers are feeling less confident than the rest of the UK – City A.M. Italy’s rising star warns against punishing Britain – The Times (£) Who will pick the fruit in post-Brexit Britain? – International Business Times Why the Maldives has quit the Commonwealth – The Independent Plan now to avoid post-Brexit languages crisis, say MPs – BBC Euro is a ‘house of cards’ ready to collapse, key single currency architect warns – The Independent China to deepen trade links with Britain – Daily Express And finally…Watch: BBC presenter struggles to say Brexit – Daily Telegraph