Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Northern Ireland backstop ‘can be made obsolete using existing technology within three years’ A hard border in Ireland can be avoided using existing technology for “invisible” customs checks that would render the controversial backstop “obsolete”, a report backed by Brexiteer MPs will say on Monday. The think tank Prosperity UK believes alternative arrangements to the backstop can be up and running within three years, solving the current deadlock that has prevented a Brexit deal being agreed. It claims that with “goodwill and pragmatism” from all sides, a technology-based plan for avoiding a hard border is already possible, and has the support of Parliament, which backed such an idea in January. Prosperity UK asked former Remainers Nicky Morgan and Greg Hands to lead an Alternative Arrangements Commission that is in the process of examining ways of solving the Irish border problem. Both MPs accept the result of the EU referendum and want Britain to leave the EU with a deal. In their interim report, which will be published on Monday, they say that a solution can be found “by harnessing existing technologies and customs best practice – futuristic high-tech solutions are not needed”. The report recommends trusted trader schemes for large and medium-sized companies, with exemptions for the smallest companies. Mobile units would carry out customs checks away from the border and the Common Travel Area, which allows for free movement of people on the island of Ireland, should be maintained. Crucially, the report has the backing of hard Brexiteers including Iain Duncan Smith, the former Tory leader, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the European Research Group, and Steve Baker, who resigned as a Brexit minister over Theresa May’s deal. The authors believe that they can come up with a protocol for alternative arrangements that would not only satisfy the EU but also win the backing of Parliament. – Telegraph (£) > Sir Paul Marshall on BrexitCentral today: A hard Irish border can be avoided under any Brexit outcome Boris Johnson renews commitment to leave EU on October 31st as he insists he will not ‘bottle’ Brexit Boris Johnson has renewed his commitment to leaving the European Union on October 31 as he insisted he will not “bottle” Brexit. The frontrunner for the Tory leadership insisted “we can, we must and we will“ leave on the promised date, in what will be viewed as a message to the party and the EU. The comments hit back at his rival Jeremy Hunt, who told him not to “bottle it” when asked to take part in another TV debate and address criticism that he has been wavering over the exit date. Writing in the Daily Telegraph on the third anniversary of the Brexit result, Mr Johnson adds that the focus once Brexit is done should be to “turbocharge” the economy, adding: “What do you want? Higher pay under the Tories or higher taxes under Labour?” Mr Johnson’s comments will be seen as an attempt to refocus the narrative surrounding his leadership campaign from the personal back to the political, in the wake of the police being called to a late-night a row with his girlfriend Carrie Symonds. In Monday’s column, Mr Johnson firmly states four times that Britain will leave the EU on October 31, in what will also be seen as an attempt to face down accusations he has been wavering over a hard deadline. He has been criticised for appearing to soften his stance last week by saying an October 31 Brexit was only “eminently feasible”, and has been under increasing pressure to firmly commit to the exit date. Mr Johnson has been attacked repeatedly by his opponents who have suggested he has left the door open for a Brexit extension. – Telegraph (£) Boris Johnson insists he won’t ‘bottle’ Brexit and vows to ‘turbocharge’ Britain as he hits back at Jeremy Hunt’s ‘coward’ blast – The Sun DUP joins campaign to get Johnson and Hunt to leave EU on October 31st no matter what The DUP have joined Tory arch Eurosceptics in piling pressure on Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt to leave the EU on October 31 no matter what. The Ulster unionist party’s Brexit spokesman Sammy Wilson today joins 18 Tory MPs so far in the new campaign. They want the two Tory leadership contenders to guarantee they will deliver Brexit without any extra delays, with or without a deal. Mr Wilson said: “It will result in a quick return to the table to seriously address the issues of our future relationship with the EU”. Dubbed “Stand up for Brexit”, the push is a reprisal of a major grassroots campaign during Commons’ votes on Theresa May’s EU deal. Prominent Tory backers include ex- leader Iain Duncan Smith and Priti Patel. They wrote in a joint article in The Sunday Telegraph: “Our campaign calls on the next leader and Prime Minister to take us out of the EU by 31st October, come what may.” – The Sun New PM could ‘chicken out’ of putting Brexit plan to Commons until autumn, under Tory plans The Conservatives are under fire for a shock plan that would allow the new prime minister to “chicken out” of putting their Brexit plan to the House of Commons until the autumn. Opposition MPs spoke out after aides to Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt were told the winner of the Tory leadership race would not move into No 10 on Tuesday 23 July, as widely expected. Instead, Theresa May proposes to make a final appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions the following day before resigning – just one day before MPs depart for their long summer recess on 25 July, they were reportedly told. Labour has vowed to table a vote of no confidence, which could be staged on that Thursday, but, otherwise, there would no reason for the new prime minister to appear before MPs. Ed Davey, a Liberal Democrat leadership contender, told The Independent: “It would be outrageous if the new prime minister chickened out of facing the Commons before the summer recess. “Three years on from the referendum, a new prime minister can’t just slink off to the beach. We need to know the plan on Brexit.” – Independent Pro-EU Tories ‘would give Johnson six weeks’ probation’ in No. 10 Boris Johnson is set to be given six weeks’ probation as new prime minister before a group of Tory MPs determined to avoid a no-deal Brexit try to collapse the government. Johnson will inherit a working majority of three if he wins the Conservative leadership race, the result of which is expected on July 23. Theresa May is expected to resign on July 24 after her last appearance at prime minister’s questions. Julian Smith, the Tory chief whip, is thought to have warned Johnson’s campaign chiefs last week that Labour had put its MPs on a three-line whip for July 25 with the expectation of a vote of no confidence. Smith added that it would take a “handful” of Tory MPs to scuttle Johnson’s administration and said two were already on a high-risk defection “watch-list”, according to The Sunday Times. – The Times (£) New Brexit referendum backed overwhelmingly by trade union members, as leaders prepare for Corbyn meeting Trade unionists overwhelmingly back a fresh Brexit referendum, a survey has found, as Jeremy Corbyn consults them ahead of a possible shift in Labour policy. Almost two-thirds of union members support a Final Say public vote, it showed – rising to more than three-quarters of those who backed Labour at the last general election. They also want Labour to campaign for the UK to stay in the EU by a three-to-one margin and are three times more likely to vote for a Labour Party fully backing a referendum than deterred from doing so. The results come at a crucial time, ahead of another crunch shadow cabinet meeting on Tuesday when Mr Corbyn will again come under huge pressure to come off the fence. Delaying a decision last week, he said: “I will be hearing trade union views and then I want to set out our views to the public” – hinting at a major speech. Jo Stevens, the secretary of the trade union group of Labour MPs and a supporter of the People’s Vote campaign, urged Mr Corbyn to listen to “the strong message”. – Independent Nick Clegg confirms ‘no evidence’ of Russian interference in Brexit referendum There is “absolutely no evidence” Russia influenced the Brexit result using Facebook, the company’s vice-president, Sir Nick Clegg, has said. The former deputy PM told the BBC the company had carried out analyses of its data and found no “significant attempt” by outside forces to sway the vote. Instead, he argued that “the roots to British euroscepticism go very deep”. In a wide-ranging interview, Sir Nick also called for more regulation of Facebook and other tech giants. Sir Nick, the former leader of the Liberal Democrats and deputy prime minister during the Coalition government, was hired by Facebook in October last year. In the interview, Sir Nick dismissed claims that data analytics firm Cambridge Analytica influenced people’s decision to vote Leave in the EU referendum in 2016. “Much though I understand why people want to sort of reduce that eruption in British politics to some kind of plot or conspiracy – or some use of new social media through opaque means – I’m afraid the roots to British euroscepticism go very, very deep,” he said. Instead, he argued attitudes had been influenced far more by “traditional media” over the last 40 years than by new media. – BBC News Tory Remainers targeted by ‘deselection campaign’ to turn Conservative Party eurosceptic Remain-backing Conservative MPs are being targeted by hardline Brexiteers who have launched a campaign to “deselect the Tory traitors” and make the party more eurosceptic. Former Universities Minister Sam Gyimah has become the latest target of the Blue Wave campaign led by Arron Banks, the businessman who helped fund the Leave.EU campaign, according to a leaked document seen by the Sunday Times. The report shows Mr Gyimah, who is MP for East Surrey, could soon be hit by a no-confidence motion, as a petition circulating among the constituency party members is “very near” to get to 50 signatures, the amount required to trigger a vote. Mr Gyimah voted Remain in the 2016 EU Referendum, but in November 2018 he became the seventh Government minister to resign in protest of Theresa May’s withdrawal agreement. Upon leaving his post, the MP said with a similar deal ”Britain will end up worse off, transformed from rule makers into rule takers.” He added: “It is a democratic deficit and a loss of sovereignty.” – Express International Trade Secretary Liam Fox rubbishes Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan… A leading cabinet Brexiteer has led criticism of Boris Johnson’s strategy for leaving the EU. International Trade Secretary Liam Fox dismissed Mr Johnson’s claim that issues such as the Irish border could be negotiated with the EU during a Brexit implementation period. At the first leadership hustings event for Conservative members on Saturday – as he battles with Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt to become the UK’s new prime minister – Mr Johnson said he would “disaggregate” parts of Theresa May’s now “defunct” Brexit deal. Repeating his argument that Britain should “reserve” payment of the £39bn Brexit divorce bill until there is greater clarity on a future trade deal, Mr Johnson added: “Then, of course, you solve the problems of free movement of goods across the Irish, Northern Irish and other borders, to where they logically belong. “That is in the context of the free trade agreement that we will negotiate in the implementation period after we have come out on 31 October.” However, Dr Fox shot down Mr Johnson’s plan by stating there would be no Brexit implementation period without a withdrawal agreement. The implementation period is otherwise known as a transition period and would see the UK preserve the status quo of EU membership while a future UK-EU relationship is put in place. – Sky News Liam Fox criticises Boris Johnson’s Brexit plan – BBC News …as does Attorney General Geoffrey Cox Attorney-general Geoffrey Cox has advised the government that it would struggle to keep the UK’s existing tariff arrangements with the EU in the event of a no-deal Brexit, contrary to claims by Boris Johnson. Mr Johnson, the frontrunner to be the next Conservative party leader, said last week there could be a temporary “standstill” of up to a decade in the current trade arrangements with the EU while a new agreement is struck. But in January Whitehall officials sought the advice of the attorney-general’s office about a temporary relaxation of international trade rules while the UK “transitions” from EU membership to independently joining the World Trade Organization. “The AG is not currently convinced on time-limited breaches [of WTO rules],” officials were told. The guidance from Mr Cox, a leading Eurosceptic, is awkward for Mr Johnson, given that the attorney-general is supporting his bid to succeed Theresa May. Under WTO rules, the UK would have to impose the same tariffs on goods from the EU as from other countries around the world if it left the bloc without a deal. Mr Johnson believes a “standstill” is possible — keeping zero tariffs between the UK and EU — because under GATT 24, an article of the WTO rules, countries can deviate from the “favoured nation principle” if they are going to have a free trade agreement. – FT(£) > WATCH: International Trade Secretary Liam Fox discusses Brexit policy on Sophy Ridge on Sunday > Iain Duncan Smith MP and David Campbell Bannerman on BrexitCentral on Saturday: The facts about GATT Article 24 – and how it can deliver a Clean Managed Brexit by 31st October Nigel Farage’s Brexit Party could nick 40 seats off Labour if it backs a second Brexit referendum, warns Caroline Flint Labour will lose 40 MPs to the Brexit Party if it backs a second Brexit vote, one of Jeremy Corbyn’s own warned today. Caroline Flint cited research which showed the party would see seats in its heartland go straight to Nigel Farage if the party embraces another vote to overturn the result of the first. The Don Valley MP told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show today: “Those Labour leave voters are likely to go to the Brexit Party. We would be losing in our heartland seats. If we don’t speak for the voices of the working class Britain, what’s the point of the Labour Party?” She later said it could be even more – 48 lost to the Brexit Party and 4 to the Lib Dems. Last week Mr Corbyn confirmed to MPs that he’s ready to back a second referendum in all circumstances – after pressure from dozens of Remainer MPs and flopping in the local and European elections. But their new policy risks alienating millions of voters in the North and Midlands in traditional Labour towns and cities that votes to leave. 26 Labour MPs wrote to the Labour boss to demand he listens to Labour voters who want Britain to leave the EU. Ms Flint said that they would like the chance to vote through a Brexit deal if they could. And she made it clear she would vote in favour of No Deal if necessary, rather than allow Brexit to be cancelled altogether. – The Sun Labour rebel Caroline Flint says she could back Boris Johnson’s Brexit deal – iNews > WATCH: Labour MP Caroline Flint discusses Brexit on The Andrew Marr Show David Miliband says Brexit is a ‘wrecking ball’ and calls for a second referendum David Miliband has described Brexit as a “wrecking ball to the constitution and the country” and gave his backing for a second referendum. Labour’s former foreign secretary told BBC One’s The Andrew Marr Show the country was in a “mess” because each party had tried to calculate how to handle Brexit based on internal party politics. His comments will pile extra pressure on Jeremy Corbyn after Labour’s deputy leader Tom Watson said the next general election could be “catastrophic” unless the party backs Remain in a second EU referendum. Mr Corbyn announced last week that Labour will call for a second referendum on any proposed Brexit deal, but has “committed to respecting the result of the referendum”. But Mr Watson warned in a memo to MPs and peers that Labour must give full backing to the UK remaining part of the EU. He also accused party bosses of doctoring an analysis of last month’s European election results presented to the Shadow Cabinet at a key meeting. Mr Miliband, who accused Mr Corbyn of “sitting on the fence”, told Andrew Marr: “This notion that our constitution, the integrity of the UK, never mind our economy and society, are under threat from this Brexit decision is real. If you are buying a house, you get the survey done, if the survey shows there’s subsidence you’re not forced to buy the house, you can have a final decision, and that’s why I think for democratic reasons as well as economic reasons, it’s the right thing to do.” – iNews > WATCH: Former Labour MP David Miliband discusses Brexit on The Andrew Marr Show Three years after the referendum, a ‘tidal wave’ is coming says Brexit Party Chairman Three years to the day since the referendum which saw 17.4 million people vote for Britain to quit the EU, Brexit Party chairman Richard Tice has warned Remainers they will not be able to stem the “tidal wave” of pressure to quit the bloc much longer. Mr Tice, a leading light in the party launched by Nigel Farage in January, was speaking on the anniversary of the historic vote – since when, Britain has conspicuously failed to act on the result. He told Express.co.uk: “The establishment have prevented us leaving for three years. “But they will not be able to stem the Leave tide for much longer. “Leave will happen, and when it does, it should be a tidal wave of positive good for the country.” Mr Tice’s comments echo those of Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage in a column written for the Daily Express, in which he also voiced scepticism about Tory front runner Boris Johnson’s commitment to taking Britain out of the EU. – Express Boris Johnson: It’s been three long years since we voted to Leave – which is why we can, must and will do so by October 31st “It is incredible, it is infuriating, it is disgraceful that it should now be three whole years since the EU referendum result; and I can tell that the whole country is positively aching for us to get it done. You can feel the impatience building like a giant thunderstorm on a hot June day. I know that if we fail again, we face a democratic explosion and a deluge in which both major parties may be swept away… We are just over four months away from the date on which, by law, we must leave the EU; and this time we are not going to bottle it. We are not going to fail. This time we are not going to shrink in fear from the exit, as we have on the last two occasions. We are going to show all the mettle, the creativity and the energy of this amazing nation. We are going to focus all our efforts on honouring that single great promise – and we are going to come out of the EU on October 31.” – Boris Johnson MP for the Telegraph (£) Nicky Morgan and Greg Hands: Alternative arrangements on the Irish border are practical and deliverable Finding a solution to the Irish border issue, which protects and upholds the Good Friday agreement, avoids a “hard border” on the island of Ireland, respects legitimate Irish and EU concerns, but which avoids the UK ever entering the so-called backstop, is critical to clearing the Brexit impasse. Today, we believe finding such a solution has taken a substantial step forward. As co-chairs of Prosperity UK’s Alternative Arrangements Commission, an independent cross-party group set up to find practical solutions to, and opportunities from, Brexit, we are delighted to have published today our interim report for practical, workable alternative arrangements for the Irish border. The report, produced by a panel of 23 technical experts,comprising border and customs experts, practitioners and lawyers with detailed knowledge of international trade, business and community relationships has engaged with stakeholders across the island of Ireland. Its aim has been to secure solutions that protect and uphold the Good Friday Agreement and that deliver solutions compatible with any of the Brexit outcomes, including working within the boundaries of the withdrawal agreement and related instruments. Our commission’s objective, from the outset, was to develop detailed proposals to avoid physical infrastructure at the border via, “consideration of comprehensive customs co-operation arrangements, facilitative arrangements and technologies,” as described in the Strasbourg declaration of March 2019. – Nicky Morgan MP and Greg Hands MP for The Times (£) The Sun: Labour need to listen to Caroline Flint and stop plotting to thwart Brexit While the country is distracted by the Tory leadership election, the plot to thwart Brexit continues. Day by day Labour inches closer to becoming an out-and-out Remain party, teaming up with the nationalists and Lib Dems to force a second referendum. Thank heavens for the rare honesty of Labour MP Caroline Flint, who voted to stay in the EU but says Brexit MUST be delivered, and warns Jeremy Corbyn the party faces wipeout if it breaks its pledge to respect the referendum result. But sadly, the honourable Labour figures who want to uphold democracy are outnumbered by anti-Brexit schemers such as Tom Watson. And it’s increasingly obvious a few Tory MPs will join them in trying to block the next Prime Minister’s efforts to take us out of the EU on October 31. The new PM faces the fight of his life to deliver Brexit. The sound and fury of the leadership drama can’t be allowed to overshadow that. – The Sun says Brexit in Brief If history proves freedom enriches, EU oligarchs could impoverish a continent – Douglas Carswell for the Telegraph (£) BBC’s Boris Johnson coverage shows it’s an anti-Brexit and anti-Conservative propaganda machine – Trevor Kavanagh for The Sun Tory leadership candidates’ Brexit views, policies, team and key supporters compared – Telegraph (£)