Theresa May moots free movement extension during “implementation” phase post-Brexit Free movement of people from the EU to the UK could be extended after Brexit, Theresa May has suggested. The prime minister said there would be an “implementation” phase once an exit deal had been struck, with business and governments needing a “period of time” to adjust to any new restrictions. The government insists Brexit will give the UK greater control of its borders.But Labour said Mrs May’s comments showed she was trying to “downplay expectations”. BBC deputy political editor John Pienaar says the comments clearly left open the possibility of free movement continuing, at least temporarily. Speaking to journalists during her visit to Jordan and Saudi Arabia, the PM was pressed on what would happen if there was a transitional phase after a Brexit deal is reached. – BBC EU migrants could be allowed to enter Britain until 2022 – Daily Telegraph Don’t expect EU free movement to end for at least five years, May warns – Daily Mail We need border controls back as soon as possible – Daily Express editorial Prime Minister accepts signing trade deal with EU may not be possible before Brexit Theresa May has been accused of backing away from a key Brexit promise after she appeared to concede that a trade deal with the EU cannot be signed until after the UK leaves. Opponents of a hard Brexit called on the Prime Minister to ensure that a transitional agreement was in place to avoid the risk of disruption to business if the UK makes a “cliff edge” departure from the EU without a trade deal. Speaking during a visit to Jordan, Ms May said she expected the shape of a new trade relationship to be clear to everybody by Brexit Day in March 2019, but appeared to accept that the formal conclusion of the agreement will have to wait until after withdrawal. – The Independent PM on Gulf charm mission to boost trade deals – The Times (£) Theresa May defends trip to Saudi – BBC European Parliament to vote today on terms for UK deal The European Parliament is to vote on Wednesday on a resolution that sets out the assembly’s terms for an EU-UK Brexit agreement. The parliament’s approval of a deal is a legal requirement for an orderly UK departure from the EU. The British government would be wise to pay attention to this resolution. Known for its ingrained habits of consensus, the EU legislature is likely to support the resolution by a large majority. The political party groups that drafted it represent the governing parties of the EU’s 27 remaining member states. – Financial Times (£) Chancellor says option of leaving the EU without a deal is ‘ridiculous’ – Daily Mail Liam Fox travels to Asia to woo President Duterte of the Philippines… Liam Fox has launched his campaign for post-Brexit trade by meeting with the Philippines’ President Rodrigo Duterte… The International Trade Secretary published an article in local media saying the UK would emerge from Brexit “as a stronger, fairer, more united and more outward-looking nation.” He added: “I hope this will lead to stronger relationships between the UK and our trading partners in South East Asia creating an era of even greater opportunity.” Mr Duterte, 72, won last year’s election with a wide margin on a promise to fight crime, particularly illegal drugs, corruption and terrorism. Since taking office in June, his anti-drug crackdown has left over 7,000 peoples dead, alarming Western governments led by the United States and the European Union and UN rights officials. – Independent …and Philip Hammond in India says the UK is “perfectly placed” to be India’s financial partner Chancellor Philip Hammond has called on the City of London to help the UK form an “unbeatable combination” with India as investors get the chance to back India’s energy and renewables market. In a wide-ranging trip to India, Hammond and his opposite number Arun Jaitley revealed a soon-to-be launched infrastructure fund would target the sector. And writing exclusively in today’s edition of City A.M. Hammond said the UK is “perfectly placed” to be India’s financial partner of choice. – City A.M. India and Britain talk up post-Brexit trade prospects – Daily Mail Hammond: Immigration cuts are no barrier to trade deal with India – The Guardian Britain and India will show the world the true benefits of free trade and open markets – Philip Hammond for City A.M. Philip Hammond accuses Tory Eurosceptics of plotting to undermine Theresa May over Brexit The Chancellor said that some Tory MPs “do not want to see” a partnership with the European Union after Brexit, adding that he believes “with a high degree of confidence” that it will lead to tensions. It came as Boris Johnson, the Foreign Secretary, said that Britain will “more than survive” if it leaves the EU without a deal after Brexit… The Foreign Secretary said that he believes the UK can secure a “win-win” deal and that he does not want to be “unduly pessimistic”. Mr Hammond last week repeatedly refused to endorse suggestions that the UK would be “perfectly OK” without a deal. – Daily Telegraph Royal Navy chases illegal Spanish Gunship from Gibraltar waters A Spanish gunship has made an illegal incursion into British waters off Gibraltar amid rising Brexit tensions over the territory. Gibraltar’s government said the ship entered territorial waters on Tuesday. A Foreign Office spokesman said: “The Royal Navy challenges all unlawful maritime incursions into British Gibraltar Territorial Waters – and did so again on this occasion.” But a spokesman for Spain’s foreign ministry denied the claim, saying the ship was in fact in Spain’s own territorial waters. It comes a day after Spanish foreign minister Alfonso Dastis told the UK not to “lose tempers” after the EU Brexit negotiation guidelines effectively gave Spain significant power over Gibraltar’s future – Sky News Gibraltar’s strategic location on the edge of Europe is still a vital asset for Britain, experts say. The 2.6 square mile peninsular is a self-governing British overseas territory – but it now is in the middle of a tussle with Spain, who the area back. Last week EU Brexit guidelines effectively gave Spain a say in the area’s future, by saying they needed to approve any deal before it could apply to The Rock. But former Tory leader Michael Howard said he was sure Theresa May would defend it as she had defended the Falkands in the 1980s – when Britain went to war. Lord Howard told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday: “I am absolutely certain our current Prime Minister will show the same resolve in standing by the people of Gibraltar.” And Michael Fallon insisted that any changes to Gibraltar’s sovereignty is “not going to happen”. – The Sun When Britain accidentally invaded Spain – BBC Today Programme Foreign Office defends navy for ordering Spanish warship out of Gibraltar waters – The Guardian Green MEP claims Britain must reform tax havens like Gibraltar to secure good Brexit deal – Daily Express EU Brexit envoy sidesteps Gibraltar row – Associated Press If we want to stop Gibraltar from becoming a Brexit pawn, it needs to become part of Britain – Nigel Farage MEP for the Daily Telegraph (£) Keep calm Britain, and let Gibraltar carry on being British – Ashley Fox MEP for The Daily Telegraph Peers push for ‘meaningful vote’ on final deal Peers piled pressure on the Government’s Brexit strategy last night after they backed two Labour motions calling for a stronger role for Parliament and protections for EU citizens living in the UK. One called for a joint committee of both Houses to set out the terms of any vote in Parliament on Theresa May’s final Brexit deal – a bid for a “meaningful vote” on the deal. The other called on ministers to update peers about the post-Brexit status of EU citizens living in the UK in less than two months. The two motions – tabled respectively by Shadow Brexit Minister Baroness Hayter and Labour leader in the Lords Baroness Smith – passed without vote. Baroness Smith called on ministers to “take note of such strong support from across the House of Lords for a common sense approach to how the government deals with Brexit”. – PoliticsHome Leading MEP demands UK be stripped of euro-business and warns EU may take Spain’s side over Gibraltar One of the most senior figures in the European Parliament has said it will be a key Brexit goal to strip London of all euro-related business and shift it to continental rivals. Leader of the biggest political grouping Manfred Weber warned that London will “lose” out from Brexit to rivals like Frankfurt, Amsterdam and Dublin. Speaking as the parliament is set to formalise its Brexit position in a vote on Wednesday, Mr Weber also said the UK should not be surprised that Brussels takes Spain’s side when it comes to Gibraltar. – The Independent Britons don’t want to have their Brexit cake and eat it… they disagree with the EU recipe The British public doesn’t want to “have its cake and eat it” during Brexit talks but disagrees “with the recipe by which the cake is baked”, according to a leading pollster. Professor John Curtice, from the University of Strathclyde, pointed to strong public support for both free trade and immigration controls as evidence of a “fundamental” disagreement with the EU Theresa May is hoping to strike a free trade deal with the EU during Brexit talks having opted to take Britain out of the bloc’s Single Market in order to introduce controls on EU migration to the UK. The Prime Minister’s decision came after Brussels consistently warned guaranteeing tariff-free trade through membership of the Single Market would only come if Britain retained freedom of movement rules for EU migrants.- Daily Express No official Brexit economic forecast carried out since EU referendum The Treasury has not carried out a detailed economic forecast of Britain’s Brexit options since the referendum, Sky News has learnt. In an interview with Sky News, the Chancellor Philip Hammond repeatedly refused to say whether he had produced another such assessment since the vote on 23 June. Last month the Brexit Secretary, David Davis, admitted that his department had produced no such analysis. Some had assumed that the Treasury would carry out its own work, given that the Government has since narrowed down the options and ruled out staying inside the EU’s single market. However, senior Government sources have now told me that in the wake of the vote, the Treasury was so disturbed by the response to its forecasts of an economic downturn that it decided to “lock them in the cabinet” and not carry out any detailed updates. – Sky News Germany: No EU deal would be bad for Britain The German Foreign Minister has publicly disagreed with Boris Johnson on how bad no Brexit deal would be for the UK. On a visit to London, Sigmar Gabriel said Britain will come off worse if it leaves the European Union without any agreement, despite the Foreign Secretary reiterating it would be perfectly OK. Berlin’s Foreign Minister said: “Having no deal is not the best idea for Britain and the European Union. “It would bring a burden on both sides, for the Brits as well as the Europeans. “My personal opinion is that the burden for the Brits is higher than for the Europeans.” Both men agreed that the talks should begin on a positive basis and that that should set the tone for the two-year negotiations. – Sky News Boris Johnson says Britain will thrive after leaving EU – Daily Express Maria Caulfield MP: My fellow MPs have done the public a disservice by pumping out anti-Brexit propaganda The Brexit select committee has, up until now, been unified and ready to hold the Government to account. We are a mixed committee of Leavers and Remainers working together to ensure no opportunities for the British people are missed as we leave the EU. So far, we have worked well together. Our first report called on the Government to produce a white paper on the process of exiting the EU and within days of the committee calling for this, the Government responded with its white paper. Our second report looked at the rights of EU nationals, already living in the UK, and called for their rights to be guaranteed. Again the Government responded with the Secretary of State committing to this as one of the first priorities of the negotiations. – Maria Caulfield for the Daily Telegraph > Today on BrexitCentral: Karl McCartney MP says the Remainers on the Brexit Select Committee need to change their tone and attitude Andy Shaw: Brexit is the jolt we need to re-invent ourselves If we are to broaden the discussion beyond the EU, we must re-consider the big issues that will drive growth and transform economic development outside London and the South East. Trade deals across the world will create great potential. The unanswered question is what goods and service will we be exporting in five, ten or fifteen years? We need a new industrial revolution focusing on the technologies that will dominate production in the future. This is the level of ambition that Brexit necessitates. – Andy Shaw for Reaction Daily Telegraph: The BBC have a moral duty to ensure Brexit coverage is balanced But while the legal requirement for balanced coverage may have gone, that does not absolve the BBC from steering clear of bias in its output. Few of its journalists or executives will have voted to leave the EU and many doubtless still harbour the view that the vote was a mistake. This risks undue prominence being given to the more negative predictions of the impact of Brexit. Some stories are unavoidable, like the select committee report calling on the Government to publish contingency plans for the eventuality of no deal with the EU. But the BBC needs to avoid the subtle bias that derives from almost everyone subscribing to a shared set of assumptions. – Daily Telegraph editorial Brian Monteith: Forget a €60bn Brexit bill – the EU should pay Britain to leave Why all the alarm that the Brexit waters are getting choppier? Advocates of leaving, like myself, never denied the EU would play tough in any negotiations; it is what one would expect for the opening gambits of any hard-nosed business deal. And that’s what it is, a deal. Likewise, supporters of remaining tied to the EU warned us we would face a metaphorical plague of locusts were we to abandon their sinking ship. And so it has come to pass. Well sort of. We may not have had George Osborne’s emergency recession budget – and all the commitments to stay and invest in Britain by foreign manufacturers have certainly confounded the bleak predictions of post-Brexit industrial ruin – but that’s because businesses live in the real world while politicians and their favoured economists do not. – Brian Monteith for City A.M. John Redwood MP: No deal is better than a bad deal The Prime Minister was right to say that. Those who think leaving is a complex negotiation should grasp that we would not have a negotiation unless we are willing to walk away. We would have dictation by the other side. Fortunately the PM understands the strength of the UK position, and understands that No deal would work better for us than for them. It would be a lot better than a punishment deal of the kind some in the Commission have flirted with. In reality it need not be a negotiation at all. It is a series of choices for the rest of the EU, where a friendly and positive UK offers them various advantages which they may or may not want to take up. – John Redwood’s Diary Brexit comment in brief MEP Manfred Weber’s parochial demands over euro clearing will do Brussels no favours – Julian Harris for City A.M. Just as in 1982, the Royal Navy is being cut to the bone – this time there won’t be a war to halt it – Con Coughlin for the Daily Telegraph This is what Brexit looks like: cosying up to brutal regimes – Owen Jones for The Guardian Alistair Burt: Last week, Iain Duncan Smith told his Brexit story. Here’s mine. – ConservativeHome The left should learn to love Gibraltar – it’s a multicultural haven – Keith Kahn-Harris for The Guardian Brexit is exposing the cowardice of conservatism – Nick Cohen for The Spectator Brexit news in brief WATCH: Gisela Stuart MP talks Brexit, trade deals and more – Labour Tube Charles calls on EU countries ‘not to turn back on UK’ – Daily Mail Independence would make Scotland go global, Nicola Sturgeon claims – BBC UK’s competitiveness as a business market place has already dropped, suggests KPMG study – Independent Regulatory influence on Brexit moves limited, indicates Irish central bank – Reuters German president attacks ‘irresponsible’ Brexit campaign – The Guardian Theresa May is being held hostage over Brexit by ‘curious cabal of old men’, says Nick Clegg – Independent Brexit doesn’t mean tight immigration, minister tells scientists – Reuters JPMorgan chief sees higher risk of EU breakup – AFP