Theresa May reportedly poised to announce end of free movement for new EU migrants on triggering Article 50… Theresa May is next month poised to announce the end of free movement for new EU migrants on the same day that she formally triggers Brexit negotiations. The Prime Minister is expected to say that EU citizens who travel to Britain after she triggers Article 50 will no longer have the automatic right to stay in the UK permanently. They will instead be subject to migration curbs after Britain leaves the European Union, which could include a new visa regime and restricted access to benefits. – Daily Telegraph …at which point Nicola Sturgeon will demand new Scottish independence referendum Theresa May is preparing for the Scottish government to call a second independence referendum to coincide with the triggering of Article 50 next month. Senior government sources say there is serious concern that Nicola Sturgeon will use the start of the Brexit process to demand another vote on the future of the UK and that Whitehall is planning for that event. The prime minister could reject the demand, but such a move would risk causing a constitutional crisis. If she agreed, ministers have been warned, she would risk the break-up of the United Kingdom on a “coin toss”. Mrs May has also been told that she faces a double-headed “devolution crisis” next month, with Stormont elections on Friday unlikely to resolve Northern Ireland’s political turmoil. Concerns about Scotland and Northern Ireland were discussed last Tuesday by the cabinet. – The Times (£) The Scottish people have already given their verdict on independence. Plans for a second referendum are a breach of good faith. – The Times editorial (£) Labour ‘confident’ of defeating Government over EU citizens and Brexit vote in House of Lords… Theresa May is heading for a fresh showdown with the House of Lords over Brexit after Labour said it was “confident” of defeating the Government on EU citizens’ rights and on giving Parliament a say over the final deal with Brussels. Shadow Leader of the Lords Baroness Smith signalled that a coalition of Labour, Liberal Democrat, rebel Tory and crossbench peers now had the numbers to win crunch votes on the two issues in coming weeks. Ahead of another week of debate of the EU (Notification of Withdrawal) Bill in the Lords, she said that she still hoped ministers would cave to the pressure and pre-empt any defeat by tabling concessions. – Huffington Post Ministers urged to sack Lord Heseltine after he vows to join Brexit rebellion in Lords over Article 50 – Daily Telegraph Welsh peers to try to change Brexit bill – ITV News Labour Leader in the Lords: I was not intimidated by Theresa May’s presence at Brexit debate – Evening Standard …but Amber Rudd insists the Government will overturn all Lords amendments on the Article 50 Bill… Peers will begin debating individual changes to the legislation this week, with the Labour leadership hopeful of winning a majority for amendments unilaterally guaranteeing the rights of EU nationals in the UK and for Parliament to have a “meaningful” vote on the final terms of the Brexit deal. Any changes passed by the Lords will be sent back to the Commons, where MPs will have the chance to reject or accept them. Amber Rudd this morning said it would be meaningless for the Lords to pass amendments, since the Government would use its majority in the Commons to dismiss them. Asked by ITV’s Peston on Sunday whether there was any prospect of the Government accepting changes to the bill, the Home Secretary replied: “No, I don’t think there is any possibility and I don’t think there should be. This is a process bill. It’s just about beginning the process.” – PoliticsHome …as she indicates that immigration will not dramatically fall after Brexit… There will be no dramatic fall in immigration as soon as Britain leaves the EU, the home secretary has suggested, as she announced the government would consult businesses over plans for an immigration system over the summer. In comments that appeared to back the Brexit secretary, David Davis, when he said the door would not “suddenly shut”, Amber Rudd said the government was “against cliff edges” when it came to reducing immigration. The Sunday Times reported that ministers were considering a five-year working visa whose holders would be banned from claiming benefits. Rudd said that was one of a number of options which would be considered, alongside a work permit system where the government would control how many EU citizens could enter the UK every year to take up a job offer with a UK company. – The Guardian The Home Secretary needs to take more action to end freedom of movement and give us back border control – The Sun editorial Taking charge of the UK’s borders – Daily Telegraph editorial …with more technology visas set to be granted after fears of worker shortage The Government will grant more visas to technology workers in a major boost to the industry’s attempts to secure access to overseas talent after the Brexit vote. Tech City UK, the government organisation that processes applications for the special visa, has been granted the right to endorse 250 immigration visas this year, 50 more than it had originally been allocated. The move comes after surging demand for the visas following the EU referendum and amid concerns in the technology industry that Britain’s exit from Europe will make it harder to hire talented foreign workers. – Daily Telegraph Is the Home Office considering plans to hand new visa powers to an independent body after Brexit? – City A.M. UK rises to become third most important country for company growth prospects, PwC says The UK has risen a place in investors’ eyes to equal Germany as the third most important country for company growth prospects in a sign that Brexit has not weighed on the country’s international business standing. Investors involved in technology and financial industries in particular gave a high ranking to the UK, which was surpassed only by the USA and China, according to analysis from PwC. One in three investors included the UK in their top three, up from 19pc last year; Germany was also mentioned by a third of investors, down from 39pc in 2016. India was deemed to be the fifth most important country for corporate growth. – Daily Telegraph UK services optimism is highest since Brexit vote – CBI Optimism among businesses in Britain’s services sector is now higher than at any time since June’s vote to leave the European Union, despite the prospect of rising costs and prices eroding profits, a major business survey showed on Monday. The Confederation of British Industry said optimism about the outlook among business and professional services firms was the highest since November 2015, while consumer services firms’ optimism was close to levels last seen in May. However, both types of business expect to raise prices at the fastest rate in about 10 years over the next three months, as they passed on almost all of the large rise in costs triggered by sterling’s slide since the Brexit vote. – Reuters Arch-Remainer Sir John Major to break months of silence tonight for ‘Brexit reality check’ Sir John Major will break months of silence for a “Brexit reality check” later today. The ex-PM will “outline the realities that he believes both Britain and Europe face in the future” in a major speech in Central London tonight. It will be the first time he has spoken out since Britain’s historic EU referendum — where he was a vocal advocate for Remain. He was slammed by Brexit campaigners after claiming that “voting to leave will poison Europe and divide West”. – The Sun Germany’s Bundesbank plays down Brexit ‘punishment’ One of Germany’s most senior banking executives has said the vote to leave the European Union should not be taken as an excuse to “penalise” the City. Dr Andreas Dombret, executive board member for the German central bank, the Bundesbank, said that the approach to Brexit should be “pragmatic”. Although he said some jobs could be lost, London would remain “the most important financial centre in Europe”. – BBC News Tories demand Brussels returns ‘iconic building’ used by Thatcher as part of Brexit deal The building served as the Conservative Party’s headquarters between 1958 and 2003 but is now called Europe House, the London base of the European Union. Margaret Thatcher celebrated three election wins in the property but was purchased by the EU when the Tory party needed to raise funds in 2007. Jacob Rees-Mogg said the building was an emblem of the European “empire” in its heyday. He said: “I think it would be a wonderful gesture if Juncker got to keep the stocks of Château Lafite [in the EU’s shared wine cellar] and in return the EU gave us back 32 Smith Square. “It’s an iconic building in the history of the Conservative party, as the home for Margaret Thatcher’s great election victories.” – Daily Express Too many ‘red lines’ would cost EU in Brexit talks, Sweden warns European Union countries should avoid pitching individual agendas or risk undermining the bloc’s position in exit talks with the U.K., Sweden warned. Sweden will largely avoid staking out its own position, cognizant of the fact that there are not 28 negotiators but two — the EU and the U.K., according to Swedish Enterprise and Innovation Minister Mikael Damberg. “I don’t think it would be good for Europe if we had 27 positions,” he said in an interview in London on Friday. “So we should have one position.” Europe’s nation states haven’t been short on opinions that sometimes make the union look less unified. Prime Minister Theresa May, who’s now working toward invoking the start of formal exit talks, has said the U.K. plans to quit the EU’s single market, to stop sending money to Brussels, to clamp down on immigration and to recapture law-making powers. – Bloomberg Censorship concerns as European Parliament introduces ‘kill switch’ to cut racist speeches Press freedom organizations have raised concerns about censorship after Members of the European Parliament approved extraordinary measures to combat hate speech. MEPs granted the parliament’s president authority to pull the plug on live broadcasts of parliamentary debate in cases of racist speech or acts and to purge offending video or audio material from the online system. Critics say the rules are vaguely worded and could be manipulated or used as a tool of censorship. – Daily Telegraph Michael Gove MP: The voyage to a better Britain has begun and the House of Lords must give backing There are many things that make me proud of Britain. We are the home of parliamentary democracy, the fairest legal system and the best and most free press. Our Armed Forces are the most professional in the world, with a proud history. They stopped the slave trade, and defeated fascism and communism. The NHS looks after us at our most vulnerable, the BBC ensures our influence is felt across the globe and our Queen has embodied stability with amazing dignity over 65 dramatic years. But what makes me proudest of Britain are its people — brave, generous, funny, determined, occasionally stubborn and argumentative, but always open and outward-looking. – Michael Gove MP for The Sun Daily Telegraph: Peers put themselves, not Brexit, in peril If the Prime Minister is to find herself confronted with antagonistic attitudes abroad, all the more reason she could do without them at home, and from her own side. Lord Heseltine is an adviser in the Department for Communities and Local Government, yet has ostentatiously vowed to rebel against the Government he serves when the Brexit Bill comes to the Lords. This move has left many Conservative MPs asking whether he should be stripped of his government role. The real question is for those in the Lords who are seeking to upset, stymie, overturn, delay or reject a Brexit Bill which was initiated by the vote of more than 17 million people, then framed in legislation by the Commons and backed by the votes of 494 MPs. Few in the unelected chamber, it was said at the time, would stand against such a powerful expression of the democratic will of the nation. – Daily Telegraph editorial Anthony Coughlan: Why Brexit should be accompanied by Irexit The Republic of Ireland joined the then European Economic Community in 1973 primarily because Britain and Northern Ireland did so. Now a group of Irish economists and lawyers of which I was rapporteur have produced a report advocating that Brexit should be accompanied by “Irexit” (Ireland Exit), for a number of decisive reasons. If the UK leaves the EU customs union while the Republic stays in the EU, the North-South border within Ireland will become an EU land frontier, with customs controls being inevitable and possibly passport controls too. EU-based laws and standards, for example in relation to crime and justice, will prevail in the South and UK-based ones in the North. The only way for the Republic’s politicians to avoid adding new dimensions to the North-South border within Ireland is therefore for them to leave the EU along with the UK. – Anthony Coughlan for ConservativeHome Brexit comment in brief Don’t blame Jeremy Corbyn over Labour’s lack of vision on Europe; Tony Blair is just as much to blame – Patrick Diamond for The Independent Hypocrisy over immigration cannot be tolerated – Gurnek Bains for The Times (£) The civil service is ripe for disruption – and Brexit could well be the catalyst – James Frayne for City A.M. Brexit news in brief Brexit obsession will leave vital issues neglected, warns BCC chief – Daily Telegraph Brexit terrified this CEO. Then business jumped 50% – Bloomberg Labour MP Sir Gerald Kaufman dies, handing Father of the House baton to Ken Clarke – Daily Telegraph