Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Boris Johnson says MPs should not be ‘bullied’ into curtailing their language about Brexit… Boris Johnson says MPs will not be “bullied” into curtailing their language as he refused to stop using the term “surrender act”. Speaking to the 1922 executive committee the prime minister told Conservative MPs that they should not be bullied into ceasing the use of the term surrender act. He remained firm that the bill is an act of surrender. It comes after John Bercow said the culture in the Commons on Wednesday was “toxic” as he added it was “worse than any I have known in my 22 years in the House”. The Speaker made his comments following last night’s debate , which resulted in the Labour Party being accused of “double standards” by Tory MPs over criticism of Boris Johnson’s language in the Commons. – Telegraph (£) Boris Johnson shows no regret over Brexit language – Politico Four times Remainers used ‘toxic’ language – Spiked Beleaguered Boris in a hurricane of humbug – Paul Wood for ConservativeWoman The warped hypocrisy of the Left over Boris Johnson’s use of language is disturbing – Charlotte Gill for the Telegraph (£) The Left uses far worse language about the Tories than Johnson would ever use about the Benn Act – Henry Hill for ConservativeHome …as Dominic Cummings says ‘it’s not surprising’ people are angry at MPs MPs who refuse to accept the result of the EU referendum should not “complain” about the anger building in Parliament and around the country, the Prime Minister’s most senior adviser has said. Dominic Cummings said it was “not surprising that some people are angry” about the delay to Brexit and found it “odd” that MPs who caused the impasse were taken aback by it. Mr Cummings, who masterminded the Vote Leave campaign before being hired as Mr Johnson’s Downing Street strategist, said he and others who fought for Leave “are enjoying this”, adding: “We are going to win, we are going to leave, don’t worry.” He added that those hoping for a second referendum would get a “terrible, terrible shock” if they thought it would “wash” with voters. “What do you expect will happen?” he said. – Telegraph (£) Dominic Cummings confronted by Labour MP over language – Independent ‘Despairing’ EU officials braced for showdown with Boris Johnson after combative Commons performance… The EU is bracing for a showdown with Boris Johnson at next month’s European Council following his combative performance in the Commons that left Labour MPs deeply alienated over remarks about their murdered colleague Jo Cox. EU officials and diplomats said they had been left “in despair” by Mr Johnson’s approach to Parliament which appeared to dash any hopes that he intended to find enough Labour MPs to vote for a last-minute Brexit deal. “Last night was a new low,” said a senior EU official. “The obvious conclusion is that the PM has no intention of cultivating MPs – whether on his own benches or from the opposition. We do actually watch Parliament TV – even late at night.” – Telegraph (£) Has Boris Johnson ruined his chances of passing a Brexit deal? – Isabel Hardman for The Spectator …as Brexit talks resume amidst growing EU pessimism over a new deal Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay will travel to Brussels later, amid growing pessimism on the continent over whether a new withdrawal deal can be agreed. The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told diplomats on Thursday the UK’s proposed alternative to the Irish backstop was unworkable. BBC Brussels reporter Adam Fleming described his briefing as “downbeat”. Downing Street said “progress has been made” but there were still “significant obstacles” to reaching a deal. Our correspondent said European diplomats thought the chances of finalising a new Brexit deal by a crucial EU summit on 17 October were “dwindling”. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU on 31 October, although MPs have passed a law requiring Prime Minister Boris Johnson to seek an extension to that deadline from the bloc if he is unable to pass a deal in Parliament, or get MPs to approve a no-deal Brexit, by 19 October. – BBC News EU’s Juncker says Britain will be responsible if no Brexit deal – Reuters The EU risks squandering its last chance to do a deal with Britain – Pieter Cleppe for the Telegraph (£) Why we simply have to leave without a deal – Alan Polain for ConservativeWoman The Government ‘could bypass Surrender Act by using the Privy Council’, fears Sir John Major Sir John Major said on Thursday evening he feared Boris Johnson’s Government would try to bypass legislation requiring a Brexit extension by using an order of the Privy Council. In a speech critical of the Government, the former prime minister said the move, which could be accomplished without the Queen’s consent, would be a “piece of political chicanery that no one would forgive or forget”. He said: “My fear is that the Government will seek to bypass Statute Law by passing an Order of Council to suspend the Act until after 31 October,” adding that such a move would be “in flagrant defiance” of Parliament and “utterly disrespectful” to the Supreme Court. Sir John raised the hypothetical scenario as a possible explanation for Mr Johnson’s apparently contradictory statement that he would not break the law but would still take the UK out of the European Union by Oct 31, making good on his “do or die” promise. – Telegraph (£) Looking for loopholes – How could PM Johnson avoid delaying Brexit? – Reuters Has the Supreme Court handed Boris Johnson a Brexit escape route? – Alexander Pelling-Bruce for the Spectator “The Surrender Act” – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome MPs vote down a three-day recess for Tory Conference… MPs voted Thursday to deny the government a three-day parliamentary recess next week to coincide with the Conservative Party’s annual conference. A government motion seeking the short parliamentary break was voted down by 306 votes to 289. Typically conference recesses are granted as a formality, but opposition parties united to block the three-day break in protest at the government’s five-week suspension of parliament earlier this month, which Supreme Court judges on Tuesday ruled was unlawful, leading to the recall of parliament. – Politico The eight Tory rebel MPs who voted against having a Tory Conference – ConservativeHome …as Remainers plan to seize control of the Commons again next week Opposition MPs are planning to seize control of parliament next week potentially forcing the disclosure of more government documents, bringing a motion to censure Boris Johnson and strengthening legislation against a no-deal Brexit. A cross-party group of MPs met at Jeremy Corbyn’s office in Westminster to plan how to continue efforts to prevent a no deal Brexit, with discussions centred around how to use the time from Monday to Wednesday next week while Conservative MPs are in Manchester for their annual conference. The group, which also included the Scottish National party’s Westminster leader, Ian Blackford, and the Liberal Democrat leader, Jo Swinson, discussed whether to bring legislation to force Johnson to seek an extension to article 50 sooner than 19 October in order to rule out a no-deal Brexit immediately. – Guardian Deliver Brexit or face riots, minister warns Boris Johnson Senior allies of Boris Johnson have warned that Britain will face civil unrest on the scale of the gilets jaunes protests in France or the riots in Los Angeles if Brexit is frustrated. …A senior cabinet minister told The Times that the country risked a “violent, popular uprising” if a second referendum overturned the result of the first one… a cabinet minister told The Times: “In this country we never had the gilets jaunes or the LA riots [in 1992]. People don’t think it’s possible in this country just because it has not happened before. Now they have a model — gilets jaunes — they have encrypted phones to co-ordinate it, and it only takes a couple of nasty populist frontmen to inspire people.”. – The Times (£) France says its ‘smart border’ is ready for Brexit France has installed a computerised “smart border” and 500 newly hired agents would be ready on Day 1 of Brexit, a French Customs official has said. Drivers coming into France who have pre-lodged their export requests with the French authorities online will have a barcode scanned in say, Dover, and their number plates automatically read by cameras before a risk assessment is made while they cross the Channel, Violaine Colent said. During the journey, drivers will be told whether they can drive off freely through a ‘green lane’ on arrival on French soil, or if they’ll be directed to an “orange lane” for further checks. “We managed to adapt our infrastructure, we have created new offices in Calais and Dunkirk that are open 24/7 and can adjust to the flows of international trade,” Colent told a conference. – Reuters Speaker Bercow breaks another rule Bercow breaking the rules of Parliament has become a daily occurrence, and Guido has now been informed that Bercow has gone to the lengths of bending the laws of time and granting Urgent Questions even if they were submitted after the deadline. Is he auditioning for a new role in Dr Who when he leaves Parliament..? Jess Phillips’ Urgent Question for Boris to make a statement ‘reflecting on his language and his role as the PM to create a safe environment both in the country and in our Parliament‘ was submitted after the 8.15am deadline and yet Bercow still granted it. – Guido Fawkes Brendan O’Neill: Brexit voters do feel betrayed. So why can’t Boris say so? Rarely has there been such a flagrant display of hypocrisy and cant as there was in the House of Commons last night. Opposition MPs stood up one after the other to denounce Boris Johnson for his use of apparently toxic and dangerous words like ‘surrender’ and ‘sabotage’. Such language is polluting the public sphere and making life hell for politicians, they claimed.Their ostentatious offence-taking would be a tad more convincing if they had ever said anything about the bile heaped on Brexit voters these past three years.- Brendan O’Neill for The Spectator David Blunkett: Why I despair at my party throwing a lit match on the oil of immigration What on earth were Labour Party members doing introducing a resolution at the party conference in Brighton that throws a match on the oil of the immigration issue? With Labour MPs unexpectedly absent in London following the sudden recall of Parliament following Boris Johnson’s defeat in the Supreme Court, members of the Labour Campaign for Free Movement took it upon themselves to indulge in a bout of pointless self-indulgence. They introduced a motion — passed by conference — to award full voting rights to all UK residents. Not citizens but residents. This measure would, at a stroke, extend the franchise to millions of immigrants in this country who are not British passport holders… This ridiculous proposal drives a coach and horses through efforts by all parties to devise a fair and workable immigration system in the post-Brexit era, one that balances the needs of the economy with the sensitivities of ordinary Britons living in ethnically mixed communities. – Lord Blunkett for the Daily Mail Why giving foreign nationals the vote is a bad idea – Luke Gittos for Spiked Labour’s no-borders policy would take a wrecking ball to Britain – Ollie Wright for ConservativeWoman Sherelle Jacobs: Boris can end this political sham by galvanising voters to protest for an election There might yet be a solution to this squalid impasse. If Mr Johnson can prove that an extension will not affect his ratings and that, for every day that opposition parties block an election, the scale of a Leave victory will only surge, Remainer MPs may yet fold. Achieving this requires an extreme shift in strategy: having lost the legalistic guerrilla war, Mr Johnson must now open up a new battlefront beyond the walls of Parliament. The hazy heroism of “people versus Parliament” rhetoric is no substitute for a flesh-and-blood army of organised Brexiteers. A pact with Nigel Farage’s movement is the first step, and completely non-negotiable. This will enable the PM to combine the grass-roots force of the Brexit Party with the cut-throat tactics of Dominic Cummings’ Vote Leave. And, crucially, rather than letting rip at the “establishment stitch-up”, this new movement would concentrate specifically on agitating for an election. – Sherelle Jacobs for the Telegraph (£) Douglas Murray: MPs and the offence taking game It was never clear what this Parliament was going to do if it was no longer prorogued. For three years the UK Parliament has been unable to act on the 2016 referendum result. It was never clear what they were hoping to achieve if they got an extra three days, weeks or months. But the Parliament that reassembled yesterday managed to live down to even what low expectations there might have been. The Members appear to have decided, as is the way in modern British politics, to win by playing games of language and offence taking.- Douglas Murray for The Spectator Comment in Brief Toxic narrative about EU citizens being kicked out after Brexit is sensationalist scaremongering – Priti Patel MP for The Sun The Ancien Regime may be laughing, but Brexit Britain is just the cutting edge of a global insurgency – Jeremy Warner for the Telegraph (£) Tories must deliver Brexit to regain our trust – Robert Colvile for The Times (£) Boris is right – the only way to heal the rancour is to get Brexit done – Fraser Nelson for the Telegraph (£) Why we must break free from the rotten EU fisheries system – John Ashworth for ConservativeWoman Undermining the UK’s bargaining position – John Redwood’s Diary Interested in a Leave Alliance? Then stop talking and start organising – Caroline Ffiske for ConservativeWoman Can we trust Boris to lead us out of the WA trap? – John Longworth MEP for ConservativeWoman Finding a way through the backstop impasse – David Shiels for Open Europe Brexit paralysis – it’s like the decay and decline of Ancient Rome – Alastair Benn for Reaction Brexit has become a question about our democracy – Emily Barley for Reaction A country under attack – Ed Robertson for Briefings for Brexit Why democracy must reign supreme – Jon Holbrook for Spiked News in Brief Foreigners ignore Brexit as swaps help juice sterling bond sales – Bloomberg Brexit delay law is ‘not perfect’, says junior minister – Reuters Brexit Party heads list of top earners in European Parliament – Politico No-deal Brexit ‘still threatening medicine supplies’ – Sky News