Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team New Commons Brexit vote set for 29th January as cross-party talks begin… Theresa May has a little over a week to salvage a Brexit deal before MPs have another vote in which parliament could take control from the government. The prime minister met opposition leaders and Brexiteer Tories including Michael Gove, as well as David Lidington, her deputy, in Downing Street this morning [Thursday] after opening talks last night. Jeremy Corbyn has forbidden his frontbenchers from talking to Mrs May, demanding that she commit to taking a no-deal Brexit off the table before engaging formally with his Labour Party. The senior Labour backbenchers Hilary Benn and Yvette Cooper will attend talks today, however, as hopes grow of forging a cross-party consensus. They are expected to attend in their capacity as the heads of Commons committees. Mrs May faces being sidelined as formal talks are likely to stall over questions of a no-deal departure and her demand that a deal must allow the UK to control immigration and pursue an independent trade policy. The focus is likely to shift to informal discussions held in parallel among MPs on all sides who are determined to prevent the UK from crashing out of the EU without an agreement. – The Times (£) …and Labour MPs defy Jeremy Corbyn to meet ministers… Labour MPs defied Jeremy Corbyn’s appeal to boycott Downing Street talks on Brexit as it emerged that a second Brexit referendum would take a year to arrange. Hilary Benn and Yvette Cooper, two of the party’s most senior backbench figures, led a parade of Labour MPs attending talks with Theresa May and other senior cabinet ministers. Mr Corbyn refused last night to see Mrs May until the option of leaving the EU without a deal was removed. He urged other Labour frontbenchers to snub invitations in an emailed letter but his appeal was ignored as both he and the prime minister struggled to maintain control. In addition to Mr Benn and Ms Cooper, Labour MPs seen arriving for negotiations in the Cabinet Office included Stephen Kinnock, John Mann and Ben Bradshaw. Meanwhile, it has emerged that a second Brexit referendum would take a year to arrange, according to an official paper prepared for Mrs May’s cross-party Brexit talks. Her spokeswoman admitted that officials had drawn up a paper on a referendum after Liz Saville-Roberts, the Plaid Cymru leader at Westminster, disclosed the details of her meeting with the prime minister. “The prime minister made it clear how much they’d already been looking at these areas themselves,” she told Sky News following her meeting in No 10 last night. – The Times (£) Jeremy Corbyn faces split as defiant Labour MPs discuss Brexit deal with ministers – Telegraph (£) …as Theresa May warns Corbyn it is ‘impossible’ to rule out no deal Theresa May has warned Jeremy Corbyn that it is “impossible” for her to satisfy his demand that she rules out a no deal Brexit before they can meet to discuss how to shape a Brexit deal that can pass the House of Commons. The Prime Minister delivered this message in a letter, replying to one he sent earlier today informing her that Labour is “open to meaningful discussions” provided she chose to “rule out” leaving the European Union without an agreement in place. “There are two ways to avoid no deal: either to vote for a no deal, in particular a Withdrawal Agreement, that has been agreed with the EU, or to revoke Article 50 and overturn the referendum result,” she wrote. “I believe it would be wrong to overturn the referendum result. So the purpose of the discussions I have been having with other party leaders and MPs is to understand and explore the issues that are standing in the way of Parliament being able to reach a consensus in support of an agreement with the EU, which would avoid a no deal outcome.” – Telegraph (£) May tells Corbyn it is ‘impossible’ to rule out no deal – Guardian Cabinet ministers warn May she will face mass-resignations unless she allows MPs to stop no-deal Brexit… Cabinet ministers have warned that Theresa May will face mass resignations if MPs are barred from trying to stop a no-deal Brexit. The Prime Minister said on Thursday that it is “impossible” to rule out a no-deal Brexit under the terms of Article 50 and warned that it “not in the Government’s power” to do so. However as many as 20 mid-ranking ministers have indicated that they are prepared to quit the Government so they can support backbench moves to stop a no-deal Brexit. The Telegraph has learned that a delegation of five ministers from the group visited the Prime Minister in No 10 and warned her directly that they were prepared to quit. One Cabinet minister told The Telegraph: “I think that the Prime Minister will come under a lot of pressure to give ministers a free vote on it. I personally think she would be wise to do that because she doesn’t really want people to resign, and there are definitely people who would resign over it. It is hard to see the Government defeating it if people vote in line with their views. It damages peoples credibility to have to take a leave of absence to avoid having to vote against something. I don’t think people want to do that.” – Telegraph (£) …while former minister Nick Boles plans a Bill to make no-deal Brexit legally impossible… Soft Brexit cabinet ministers are quietly backing a parliamentary bid to make it legally impossible for the UK to leave the EU without a deal on 29 March, the Conservative MP behind the bid has claimed. The bill tabled by the former minister Nick Boles would force the government to delay the UK departure from the EU unless a consensus could be found by early March. That would in effect make it impossible for the government to legally leave the EU without a deal on 29 March. “This bill is about creating the space for a compromise by ruling out a no-deal Brexit,” Boles told the BBC. “We have had indications that many ministers, including cabinet ministers, are very, very keen to see it pass and are telling the prime minister that they will not vote against it.” However, to force the government to grant time for the bill, Boles is set to table an amendment to the government’s Brexit motion that MPs will vote on on 29 January. The amendment would give parliamentary time for Boles’ bill, taking precedence over government business. – Guardian …and Tory MP Sarah Wollaston pledges a second referendum amendment to May’s Brexit plan MPs are expected to have the opportunity on 29 January to vote on whether to hold a second referendum, after a Conservative backbencher pledged to put down an amendment to Theresa May’s Brexit plan. Sarah Wollaston had previously withheld her amendment because Jeremy Corbyn would not support it, but she said it was time to put it to a vote of MPs when Brexit was next debated in the Commons, and called on the Labour leader to back her. Andrea Leadsom, the leader of the House of Commons, announced on Thursday that MPs would again debate Brexit for a full day on 29 January – eight days after the prime minister is due to spell out her next steps in a statement. MPs will be free to lay a string of amendments to May’s statement, in a debate that is likely to see a range of options put before the Commons for the first time, including Labour’s alternative plan and, almost certainly, an amendment opposing a no-deal Brexit. Any no-deal amendment would be expected to carry a majority in the Commons, after an amendment submitted by Yvette Cooper to the finance bill earlier this month was carried despite government opposition. Wollaston’s second referendum amendment, which could attract the support of a dozen rebel Tories, will not be able to pass the Commons unless the Labour leadership backs it. – Guardian No. 10 admits plans for a second referendum have been looked at… Downing Street last night admitted for the first time that it has looked into holding a second EU referendum. A No10 document about how long it would take to organise another nationwide poll that could overturn Brexit emerged during cross-party talks with opposition MPs. The PM’s embarrassed aides insisted it was only “a very short paper” that had been drawn to inform conversations with rival MPs. But its revelation deepened Eurosceptics’ fears that the landmark decision will be overturned after politicians decide to go back to the country as the only way to end the Brexit deadlock in Parliament. The Sun can also reveal the Lib Dems’ 12 MPs are now looking at backing the PM’s Brexit deal on the proviso that she hold an In/Out referendum over it. The option emerged after its leader Sir Vince Cable saw Theresa May to discuss the crisis in No10. A senior Lib Dem MP told The Sun: “There is a conversation going on and a range of views in the party, and that is one option we’re looking at”. – The Sun …which suggest it would take longer than a year to organise No 10 drew up a paper setting out the potential timescale for a Final Say referendum on Brexit. The document’s existence emerged after Theresa May used it in meetings with political rivals as she seeks a consensus on how to push ahead with Brexit. Officials later said the document had dealt only with its potential scheduling to demonstrate the belief at the top of government that a People’s Vote could take more than a year to organise. It comes as MPs from across the House of Commons who back a new referendum, manoeuvre to try to force one on to the parliamentary agenda. Ms May has consistently ruled out a second referendum, but some attendees left meetings with her on Thursday – following her call to speak to all parties on the future of Brexit – suggesting they were struck by work the government has already done looking into one. Ms May’s spokeswoman said: “In order to inform the discussions, a paper, a very short paper set out in factual detail the number of months which would be required. – Independent Second Brexit vote would take a year to organize – Politico Brexiteers optimistic that May will stand firm on customs union Brexiter Conservatives and the Democratic Unionist party emerged upbeat from their meetings with Theresa May in Downing Street, convinced that the prime minister was not intending to soften her position to try to attract Labour votes. Those who met with the prime minister on Thursday said that she gave little away but that she indicated she wanted the UK to be able to strike its own trade deals after Brexit, meaning that she was not going to soften her stance on leaving the customs union. A group of senior Brexiters – including former cabinet ministers David Davis, Iain Duncan Smith, Owen Paterson and Theresa Villiers – told May that parliament would back a deal if she could find a way of dealing with the Northern Ireland backstop issue. Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s Westminster leader, struck a cautiously optimistic tone after meeting with May alongside the party’s leader Arlene Foster. May “has a way through this”, Dodds said, if she could ease concerns about the backstop. – Guardian Corbyn could face string of resignations if he backs ‘People’s Vote’ Jeremy Corbyn could face up to a dozen resignations from the Labour frontbench if the party backs a second referendum as a way out of the Brexit crisis. A string of junior shadow ministers have told the Guardian they are strongly opposed to the idea of a second referendum, which they fear would expose Labour to a vicious backlash in leave-voting constituencies. The development follows another tense day of brinkmanship in Westminster between Theresa May and the Labour leader as they seek a way out of the crisis that has engulfed both major parties. Corbyn refused to enter talks with Theresa May on Thursday until she ruled out the idea of a no-deal departure, and demanded that his party’s MPs refuse similar invitations. Later May wrote to Corbyn telling him that ruling out no-deal was “an impossible condition” and calling on him to join cross-party discussions. – Guardian Boris Johnson: Brexit can unite Britain with low tax, low migration economy Brexit can be used to “unite the country” after it was driven apart by uncontrolled migration, Boris Johnson will say on Friday. The former foreign secretary will argue that “big corporations have held wages down” because of their access to “unlimited pools” of cheap labour from abroad, and that controlling migration will allow Britain to have a pay rise. In a wide-ranging speech, Mr Johnson will also say ministers must “create the most favourable tax environment” to “stimulate the income we need” for the post-Brexit economy. He will say that “no-one, rich or poor”, should pay more than 50 per cent of their income in tax, and that property-based taxes including council tax, stamp duty and business rates should be “bundled together” and spent at a local level. The speech at the JCB headquarters in Rocester, Staffs., will be his third high-profile media appearance this week and is likely to be interpreted as a pitch to become Prime Minister if Theresa May is ousted. – Telegraph (£) Boris says Brexit can unite the country, as he makes a dramatic pitch for the Tory leadership – Daily Mail Remaining in the EU ‘could spark a new extremist movement’, suggests Tory backbencher Remaining in the European Union would be “calamitous” and would lead to a “rise in a new extremist movement”, a former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party warns today. Robert Halfon, the current of the House of Commons’ Education select committee, told Friday’s Chopper’s Brexit Podcast – which you can easily listen to by signing in or registering here – that staying in the EU “would be calamitous for all parties in Westminster. Get the rest of today’s Brexit news in our live blog “Potentially there would be a rise in a new extremist movement, possibly led by someone we don’t know but some charismatic individual.” Mr Halfon compared the lack of trust to that which will followed The Daily Telegraph‘s exposure of the MPs’ expenses scandal a year ago. He said: “There would be a huge loss of trust in our political system and it would be almost like when we went back to the expenses scandal which the Telegraph led when there was a breakdown of trust between people and MPs. So I think it would be a disaster for our country and the Conservative party would be seen not to have followed through on a promise and what they voted for.” – Telegraph (£) Gordon Brown calls for Brexit to be delayed a year while the Government works out what people want Gordon Brown has called for Brexit to be delayed for a year while the Government tries to fathom what the British people want with a series of public meetings. The former Prime Minister said he believes the EU would agree to extend the Article 50 process for 12 months so the country could be consulted on the way forward. Speaking in Edinburgh, he said the British people are angry at being cut out of major decisions, leading to mounting distrust with political establishment. Mr Brown argued for a public consultation in each UK nation and region on what they want from Brexit, followed by a parliamentary review of the results, which could be used as the basis of a “renegotiation” with the EU. He unveiled a poll he said shows by a margin of nearly two-to-one people want to be consulted on the country’s Brexit blueprint after the Commons rejected Theresa May’s deal by a record margin. But the Tories poured scorn on the plan, saying: “Nobody should be surprised that the man who dithered over holding a general election should now propose we dither over Brexit too.” – Telegraph (£) Nicola Sturgeon to press ahead with indyref2 plans but rejects Theresa May Brexit talks Nicola Sturgeon has said she will press ahead with her second independence referendum plans after refusing to enter Brexit talks with Theresa May or answer key questions about the Alex Salmond scandal. The First Minister confirmed she will announce her preferred timing for another separation vote within a few weeks following a series of key Commons decisions over Brexit, including the possible extension of Article 50. She urged the pro-independence Greens “to go out there and make the case” after she has announced her preferred date, despite Mrs May being likely to reject her request for another independence vote. But Ms Sturgeon said the SNP would refuse the Prime Minister’s offer of a meeting to discuss a Brexit compromise unless another EU vote is on the table and no deal is ruled out. She was also accused of “ducking and diving” over the Alex Salmond affair after refusing to say whether her advisers knew of the sexual misconduct allegations against him before they met at her home last April. The SNP leader told First Minister’s Questions that the key issues in the scandal should be left to a series of official inquiries that have been set up. – Telegraph (£) UK could delay Brexit without holding European elections, suggest lawyers Britain can extend its EU membership beyond the summer of 2019 without taking part in European elections or undermining the European Parliament, lawyers have advised the assembly. Although contentious, the opinion from the European Parliament’s legal service potentially addresses a significant obstacle to Britain asking to delay Brexit beyond July 2, the inauguration date of the new assembly following the elections due in May. “The possibility for the European Parliament to be validly constituted following the 2019 elections would not be affected by a potential failure by the UK to organise elections,” the paper states, according to a copy leaked to the Financial Times. Without elections, the UK’s existing MEPs would remain until the new parliament was put together on July 2. In the new assembly, Britain would not have any seats. The other member states would have the same number of MEPs as now, with the chamber being reorganised only once Britain had left the EU. – FT (£) Stop Brexit and stay with us, Germany asks Britain The frontrunner to become Germany’s next chancellor has issued an 11th hour plea for Britain to change its mind and stay in the European Union. Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the new head of Angela Merkel’s party, is the most senior German politician yet to openly appeal to the UK to abandon Brexit. She is among more than two dozen leading figures from German politics, industry and the arts to announce an “unprecedented” cross-party campaign to persuade Britain “from the bottom of our hearts” to remain. Their affectionate letter to The Times marks a significant shift in Berlin’s tone. It argues that the two countries share an indissoluble bond thanks to Britain’s role in rebuilding Germany after the Second World War. “Without your great nation, this continent would not be what it is today: a community defined by freedom and prosperity,” it says. “Should Britain wish to leave the European Union for good, it will always have friends in Germany and Europe. But Britons should equally know that we believe that no choice is irreversible. Our door will always remain open: Europe is home. We would miss the legendary British black humour and going to the pub after work hours to drink an ale. We would miss tea with milk and driving on the left-hand side of the road. And we would miss seeing the panto at Christmas. But more than anything else, we would miss the British people — our friends across the Channel. We would miss Britain as part of the European Union, especially in these troubled times. Therefore Britons should know: from the bottom of our hearts, we want them to stay.” Katarina Barley, Mrs Merkel’s justice minister, whose father is British, publicly floated a second referendum yesterday as a way to break the deadlock. “My impression is that this possibility has become more probable than it was even a few weeks ago,” she said. – The Times (£) Portugal plans special lanes for Britons in airports after Brexit Portugal plans to open dedicated corridors in its airports so British tourists continue to get fast-track access after Brexit whether the UK leaves with or without a deal, the prime minister, António Costa, has said. “Millions of Britons visit Portugal as tourists every year – we have to ensure the flow is not interrupted,” Costa said on Thursday. Faro airport in the Algarve and Funchal on the island of Madeira will operate special lanes for UK visitors similar to those for EU nationals, he said. The prime minister was announcing a package of contingency measures to help the country deal with the consequences of a no-deal Brexit, seen as more likely after MPs decisively rejected Theresa May’s deal this week. He said €50m (£43m) of credit would also be made available to some 2,800 export-focused companies likely to suffer most should Britain crash out of the EU on 29 March, and 60 extra customs officers were to be hired for post-Brexit border checks. – Guardian Robert Peston: Will Brexit break up Labour or Tories first? Which of the Conservative and Labour parties is most likely to split over Brexit? Or perhaps it is more apposite to say which party will break up first, since the gravitational force of competing visions of the UK’s future relationship with the EU are threatening to fracture each of them. On my show last night the divisions in the Tory Party were on full display – with the chief secretary Liz Truss implying that the prime minister is wasting her time wooing party leaders to find a Brexit compromise, and should concentrate instead on reaching out to the 118 Tory MPs and the DUP’s 10 who voted against her. What Truss appears to believe is that if the EU can be persuaded to either remove the backstop or put a time limit on it, the PM’s deal would pass through the Commons. Which, for what it’s worth, is not what Theresa May thinks, according to those close to her: she has been persuaded, I understand, both that the EU won’t move enough on the backstop, and that even if it did she would not win a majority. So she has to explore whether if she softened or gave up some of her Brexit red lines, such as that a post-Brexit UK would not have the power to negotiate independent trade deals by being in the customs union forever, a cross-party alliance would carry the day for her. – Robert Peston for ITV News Nigel Farage: Leavers must accept that the Brexit betrayal is happening now My new year resolution was to hope for the best but to prepare for the worst. It is the only one that I have kept in my entire adult life and I am sticking to it rigidly. This is why. Throughout the torturous EU negotiation process, I have warned repeatedly that Theresa May is engaged in the betrayal of Brexit. Many Brexiteers have tried to tell me I am wrong. But ever since September 2017, when Theresa May delivered her EU speech in Florence, I have been convinced of my position: Brexit has undergone a slow strangulation. In that speech, Mrs May indicated that, after decades of Britain opting out of the EU’s structures, our withdrawal from the EU would see Britain opting into them. In effect, she said she desired a close relationship with the EU, rather than a clean break. It was this attitude which led ultimately to the appalling Withdrawal Agreement that was kicked out of the Commons on Tuesday. Looking more like a surrender document signed by a nation defeated in war than a confident vision for our future, it is not surprising that the PM went down to a historic defeat. – Nigel Farage MEP for the Telegraph (£) Arlene Foster: Exit agreement that works for all can be the foundation stone for a better tomorrow Having already outlined our objections to the withdrawal agreement in previous conversations with the Prime Minister, it is very frustrating that we are still at this point. With the clock counting down until March 29, too much time has been wasted. If only the Prime Minister had listened to our principled objections from day one. When speaking in London on Tuesday, I outlined how disappointed I was that the Government had not even asked the EU to make amendments to the withdrawal agreement. We had made clear in all discussions that letters of reassurances were not enough to win our support. I trust the huge and historic rejection of her deal has now fortified the Prime Minister to stand up for the Union and demonstrate to Brussels that they must think again. On a personal level, I admire the Prime Minister’s tenacity. It is not an easy job, but she must recognise that the Government has made several tactical errors in the negotiating process. Principally by making concessions to the EU which weaken the UK’s negotiating hand as we enter future trade talks with the EU. The backstop was not the best of both worlds, as some have claimed. We will meet again with the Prime Minister in the coming days and will stand up for the Union. – Arlene Foster MLA for the Belfast Telegraph John Redwood: Parliament cannot be the executive There are good reasons why governments propose and Parliament approves, improves or rejects. Parliament is well set up to challenge government, hold it to account, modify or remove its more foolish measures. Parliament is not set up to run competing policies, competing budgets and competing legislative programmes. That way chaos lies. The rules of Parliament give certain advantages to the executive to allow budgets to be set and policies to be pursued. Those who divide up the jobs within the executive have to show they are in charge of the ruling party or governing coalition, and can command the House on big votes. It would not be wise to change all these rules today just because this particular government lost its way on its Brexit negotiations and lost its Agreement by ignoring many of its own usually loyal supporters. If Labour is serious about wanting to run the government in the future it is also not in their interests to create a Parliament which cannot accept government on any sustained and consistent basis. When I told Parliament last week it is on trial, I meant it. The public are showing their disapproval at the negative approach of Parliament to Brexit and good government. They dislike the failure so far to deliver a good policy in the national interest to fulfil the promises made on Brexit during the referendum and in the 2017 election. These promises were made by both main national parties that hold the bulk of the seats in the Commons. – Sir John Redwood’s Diary Jeremy Warner: Until Brexit is no longer seen as a Right-wing plot there will never be a cross-party plan Why, politically, are we in such an apparently intractable mess? The answer may seem blindingly obvious. Disentangling ourselves from more than 40 years of progressively deeper economic and political integration with the rest of Europe was never going to be easy; political turbulence along the way was always inevitable. But it is also because Brexit is in essence a partisan project for which a national political consensus – as opposed to a popular vote – was never established. Rather than being seen as an opportunity for national renewal, Brexit has, as a consequence, found itself harnessed from the start to the cause of perceived party political advantage, with little consideration given to wider collective interests. Reaching out to the rest of Parliament to establish agreement on a way forward, as the Prime Minister now says she wants to do, will therefore be extremely difficult, and is quite probably, like her deal, doomed to fail. Rightly or wrongly, Brexit remains quite widely regarded as an internalised Tory affair. Yes, of course everyone agreed to honour the referendum outcome, lots of Labour supporters voted for it, and four out of five MPs backed the triggering of Article 50. But this hasn’t stopped the whole endeavour from becoming a political football. Conservatives were determined to gain lasting political advantage from the Brexit insurgency. Labour leaders were equally determined they should not. – Jeremy Warner for the Telegraph (£) Bill Carmichael: Brexit has to happen for democracy’s sake In two Commons votes this week Theresa May met triumph and disaster, and in the words of Rudyard Kipling she appears to have treated “those two imposters just the same”. Perhaps now, while the future remains perilously uncertain, is an apposite moment to review how we got to where we are – and also along the way to slay a few popular myths that have gained currency. The biggest myth, much loved by Remainers, is that Brexit is much ado about nothing – a minor internal squabble in the Conservative Party that has been artificially blown up to become a national crisis. A quick glance across the English Channel shows this to be nonsense on stilts. France is in the grip of a growing popular revolt that is leaving half a dozen cities ablaze, complete with riots, barricades and volleys of tear gas every weekend. And the gilets jaunes, joyously trampling the EU flag underfoot, are not alone. Anti-EU sentiment is growing like wildfire right across the continent, from Sweden to Greece by way of Italy, Germany, Austria, Spain, Holland, Poland, Hungary and even Belgium. – Bill Carmichael for the Yorkshire Post Dr Norbert Röttgen: It is your choice but Europe needs Britain in these troubled times For decades the European Union has brought our peoples closer together. It has forged a European identity that some of us might feel stronger than others at times — and yet it is undeniably there. Our friendship lays the foundation for peace in Europe and within this fruitful environment our nations have equally prospered. A Brexit with no deal puts all these achievements at risk. Because we as Germans are deeply committed to a close relationship with the United Kingdom, we do not want to stand by and watch Brexit unfold, without at least expressing ourselves clearly. We want you to stay! This is our dearest wish, but should you decide to leave, we hope for it to be on terms that safeguard the tight bond between our European nations. This sentiment is broadly shared across German society. It is therefore no surprise that the response to sign the letter in The Times to the British people has been overwhelmingly positive. The party leaders from the Christian Democratic Union, Social Democratic Party and the Greens have rallied behind the call, which has equally been supported by the president of the German trade unions and all federal associations of industry and commerce. This is unprecedented. – Dr Norbert Röttgen for The Times (£) The Sun: Leaver MPs must fight and not cave in — No Deal Brexit is not national suicide No Deal is not national suicide. Ruling it out is. Here’s why: It’s not just that opting to Remain instead of Leave as the default on March 29 betrays the referendum result. It’s that we will have fallen into Brussels’ trap and lost their game of chicken. The surest route out of all this chaos is to win the support of the DUP and Tory Brexiteers for Theresa May’s deal. It has other flaws, but the Irish backstop is fatal — dividing Britain from Northern Ireland and crushing our ambitions for independent global trade. Our dismal Chancellor Philip Hammond, a politician with zero drive, optimism or negotiating acumen, feebly moans it is a “waste of time” demanding from Brussels a time-limit on the backstop or an exit from it. That is typical defeatism from a man who has done everything to nullify Brexit and minimise vital No Deal preparations. It is very far from a waste of time. The EU now have every incentive to make their deal with Mrs May work — but only if No Deal is our fallback. Why? Because the eurozone is in huge trouble. – The Sun says Brexit in Brief On Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn is either clueless or two-faced. Which is it? – Michael Deacon for the Telegraph (£) France launches contingency plans for ‘hard’ Brexit – FT (£) John Bercow named ‘European of the Week’ as EU media outlets brand him hero after he ‘thwarted’ UK Government – The Sun Nigel Farage tells Brexit supporters to prepare for second referendum – i News EU chief predicts eurosceptic wave at elections fearing ‘economic and political chaos’ – Express Taxpayer paid for Jean-Claude Juncker’s 125-mile trek to adopt stray dog – Telegraph (£)