Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team David Davis’s ex-adviser claims the Brexit Secretary is being “hamstrung” by Theresa May over ECJ red line… Theresa May has made David Davis’s job more difficult by setting “red lines” for him in Brexit talks, his ex-chief of staff has told the BBC. James Chapman said the Brexit secretary had been “hamstrung” by the prime minister’s stance on the European Court of Justice (ECJ), among other things… Mr Chapman accused Mrs May of taking an “absolutist” position on the ECJ, saying: “She’s set a red line effectively for a conference speech that hamstrung these negotiations in my view.”… A former Daily Mail journalist, Mr Chapman was George Osborne’s director of communications before becoming Mr Davis’s chief of staff at the new department for exiting the EU. – BBC News Asked if any Brexit-supporters in the upper ranks of Government would want Mrs May to rethink her pre-election Brexit plan, Mr Chapman said: “If you consider the two most powerful Brexiters in the Cabinet; David Davis and Boris Johnson, they’re actually pretty liberal on issues like immigration. I think that there would be room to recalibrate some of this approach but at the moment she is showing no willingness to do this. She said that when she delivered the Lancaster House speech that’s the plan and that’s what she is sticking to.” – Sky News Theresa May ‘making Brexit job harder’ claims James Chapman – The Times (£) …as the UK rejects further ECJ demands from the EU A new set of policy papers by the European Commission have revealed that Jean Claude Juncker and his fellow eurocrats want to continue to impose their will on Britain through legal rulings and fines from the ECJ… But last night the Brexit Department reiterated that ending the ECJ’s power in Britain is a red line in the negotiations. A Department for Exiting the European Union spokesman said: “We are studying these technical papers in detail and look forward to discussing these issues, among others, at the next round of talks in July. We remain ready to engage with the Commission to discuss how we achieve a deep and special partnership with the European Union… But we’ve also been clear that the direct jurisdiction of the ECJ in the UK must come to an end.” – Express Brussels chiefs want European courts to have back-door control over British laws in “outrageous” new Brexit demands – The Sun EU says Britain must respect the rule of its top court after Brexit – Politico Brussels cannot bully Britain into accepting EU law – Chris Roycroft-Davis for the Express Labour split over Europe as its arch-Remainers in Parliament say their constituents don’t realise Jeremy Corbyn backs ‘hard’ Brexit… Jeremy Corbyn was facing an increasingly divided Labour party last night after Remain-supporting MPs warned they can’t support his position on Brexit because their constituents do not support it. MPs in remain-backing constituencies said they can’t vote in favour of the leader’s position on leaving the European Union, which is seen as increasingly hardline, for fear of losing their seats in another general election… The rift highlights a growing chasm within the party which is yet to reconcile the fact that it won swathes of seats in the general election with the backing of pro-remain constituents who do not support the party’s official line. – Telegraph …as Sir Keir Starmer adds to the confusion by hinting at continued customs union membership… In a olive branch to the rebels, Mr Starmer gave his strongest endorsement to date for the UK to stay in the Customs Union but made clear the UK was likely to have to strike a new deal on the single market… Mr Starmer said there are “huge protections” that came with the customs union and it should “certainly” be on the table in the negotiations. In regard to the single market he wanted the best possible access but warned this would see taxpayers have to pay a substantial sum to Brussels in return for access to the single market… “It is inevitable we will have to pay in something and any country negotiating, and that would include the UK, will want to keep that to a minimum but there is a balance to be struck between the level of access and the amount we might have to pay in,” he said. – Keir Starmer interview in the Mirror …while deputy leader Tom Watson hits out at Brexit rebels who tried to ‘divide’ party Deputy Labour leader Tom Watson said he was disappointed with Mr Umunna for trying to “divide” Labour MPs with the vote. He said: “I just felt that given we’d come out of the general election with such an unexpected result, and there’s a real euphoria, to try and divide Labour MPs a week and a half in was a little disappointing.” … The vote exposed a major rift within Labour over Brexit, as Mr Umunna had called for Britain to stay in the single market, in direct contravention of official Labour policy. Mr Corbyn’s decision to sack three people – as many front benchers as he had sacked in his entire time as Labour leader – indicated the depth of anger felt by Mr Corbyn and his team, who had issued a three-line whip ordering all Labour MPs to abstain from the vote. – Telegraph (£) Labour’s single market rebels vow to continue to pressure PM on Brexit – Guardian Emily Thornberry accuses Chuka Umunna of virtue signalling on EU vote – Guardian Is Jeremy Corbyn playing a long game to secure a soft Brexit? – Stephen Bush for the New Statesman The rebel Brexit amendment didn’t change anything except Labour’s unity – Jonn Elledge for the Guardian Chuka Umunna’s Brexit rebellion backfired and only served to isolate his anti-Corbyn faction – James Butler for the Independent > Yesterday on BrexitCentral: MPs reject arch-Remainers’ Queen’s Speech amendment backing Single Market and Customs Union membership Diplomats from EU states examining ‘whether UK is likely to reverse Brexit’ Ambassadors from larger EU states have started to review whether the UK will reverse its Brexit decision in light of the election result, despite many concluding no foreseeable political scenario exists for abandoning it. Splits in Theresa May’s cabinet have emerged this week as senior figures set out alternative timetables for Brexit while the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schäuble, suggested the UK might realise at some point it “made a mistake”. But the diplomats say senior UK civil servants have given no sign to them of an imminent change to May’s red lines on leaving the single market, the customs union and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice. – Guardian France planning to exploit Brexit by poaching British business France has launched an offensive on swathes of the UK economy to exploit uncertainties over Brexit. Emmanuel Macron, the newly elected French president with a large parliamentary majority, is spearheading the campaign to woo corporate Britain, in particular bankers, over the Channel. He is expected to announce plans to cut and simplify corporation tax, while the Paris regional council is pledging to open bilingual schools where children of high-flying international executives can study in English. It has also set up a relocation service for those who want to move from London, offering help with buying a home, finding a school and dealing with bureaucracy. – The Times (£) France promises new court to handle English law cases in bid to lure UK-based firms – Independent France plans to exploit Brexit opportunities with glee – The Times (£) City must come first in Brexit, May told Theresa May risks crippling the economy unless the City of London is prioritised immediately in Brexit talks, senior City sources warned on Friday… William Wright, the managing director of New Financial, a think tank, said: “The focus since the election has been on a free-trade agreement for goods with UK politicians talking about German cars, Italian prosecco and French cheese. But the most complicated area of any future agreement with the EU will be services, especially financial services. “Banks, asset managers and insurers will have to assume the worst-case scenario unless they get the answers they need in the next few months.” A banking source said: “It is hard to tell whether the Government doesn’t want to be seen to be giving the City preferential treatment given the political toxicity of the banks or, worse, they still don’t understand the complexity, urgency and necessity of getting a deal done.” – Telegraph Banks’ preparations for Brexit need to improve, says ECB and Bank of England – Reuters/Mail Sideline banking and Brexit will fail – Ben Wright for the Telegraph (£) The City must come first in Brexit deals – Telegraph editorial (£) Tom Harris: Jeremy Corbyn was right to sack his Brexit rebels. They’re fighting a battle they will never win What if the many clever and able people, including Umunna and others currently on the back benches, started to apply their policy skills to life after Brexit? Just think: if all the energy currently being used up in making the case for something that’s not going to happen (remaining in the single market) were used instead to help map out an optimistic, specifically Labour vision for our country, the opportunities would be considerable. Yes, yes, I know – “Britain’s heading for disaster, etc.” But if politicians are able only to set their minds to scenarios of which they approve, rather than scenarios which they will actually have to face, perhaps they need to look harder to find their true vocation. – Tom Harris for the Telegraph (£) Brexit comment in brief Reasoned democracy, not slinking back to the EU, is a much better antidote to Jeremy Corbyn – Charles Moore for the Telegraph (£) Europe’s attempts to solve migrant crisis are failing – Ross Clark for the Express To make Brexit work, Britain needs to show Europe it cares – John Bruton for the Guardian Angela Merkel’s vote against equal marriage shows that she’s no liberal hero – George Eaton for the New Statesman Liberals should not be surprised Angela Merkel voted against gay marriage – William Cook for the Spectator Brexit news in brief Huge vanity project: EU army plan all about creating a superstate, says ex military chief – Express French educational guide already shows EU with only 27 members – Express Leaving the EU will spark economic revival in the North, says think tank boss – Express Canary Editor booed for backing second referendum – Guido Fawkes George Osborne’s 16-year-old son campaigned for Vince Cable against Tory incumbent during the election – PoliticsHome Remainers launch anti-Brexit political party… but supporters not rushing to fund it – Express