Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team David Davis warns House of Lords its bid today to allow Parliament to control Brexit would spark a constitutional crisis David Davis has warned that a Lords bid tonight to let Parliament control Theresa May’s Brexit negotiation would spark a major constitutional crisis. The Brexit Secretary also says the new powers demanded by peers could be used by them and Remain supporting MPs to overturn the referendum result and keep Britain in the EU. Mr Davis issues the double warning in an article for The Sun today ahead of the upper house’s vote on Monday. It is the Lords’ biggest Brexit showdown against the Government yet. If the vote on an amendment demanding the powers succeeds, Mrs May will be effectively cut out of the negotiation as the EU stalls her to deal directly with Parliament instead, Mr Davis also insists. – The Sun Exit bill proposal will not give Brits the Brexit they deserve – David Davis MP for The Sun > Christopher Howarth on BrexitCentral today: How Viscount Hailsham’s amendment to the EU Withdrawal Bill could let peers block Brexit Theresa May’s Chief of Staff and Chief Whip back her senior Brexit adviser after claims Davis wants him sacked… Two of Theresa May’s top aides have backed her top Brexit adviser following reports David Davis wants him sacked. Sources said the Brexit Secretary rang No10 chief of staff Gavin Barwell to demand Ollie Robbins is sacked. Mr Davis is said to be furious with the civil servant over his plans to create a controversial new customs ‘partnership’ with the EU after Brexit. Friends of Mr Davis say that he is growing increasingly frustrated at being ‘squeezed out’ of crunch Brexit discussions by Mr Robbins. Mrs May increasingly dismissing Mr Davis’s advice on how to handle the EU negotiations in favour of suggestions from her adviser. But today Mr Barwell and chief whip Julian Smith both spoke out on Twitter to back Mr Robbins after details of the feud spilled into the press. – Daily Mail Brexiteers warned to stop sniping at civil servants over customs plan – Times (£) …as Tory backbenchers tell May to stand up to Brussels or quit… Theresa May has been warned she will face a vote of no confidence in her leadership if she fails to stand firm on immigration and customs arrangements in a crunch week for Brexit policy. Senior Tory backbenchers have told the Daily Express that they are preparing to trigger a challenge of the Prime Minister’s leadership if she adopts soft policies on EU immigration and the EU customs arrangements at a key Brexit cabinet sub-committee meeting this week. It comes amid fears that Mrs May’s senior adviser, Whitehall mandarin Olly Robbins, has persuaded her to push for a customs partnership which could tie Britain to the EU and support proposals to give EU citizens preferential immigration treatment after Brexit. – Express …while a Cabinet minister warns Theresa May her customs plan with the EU would be ‘a disaster’ A Cabinet minister last night warned Theresa May that her customs plan with the EU will be “a disaster” ahead of a major showdown. Issuing the bombshell, the senior government figure also said the PM was on the verge of “a crunch point” this week with her most senior Brexiteers. The spiralling row over her plan for a Customs Partnership is the most dangerous split yet between the Cabinet’s former Remainers and Leavers. It will come to a head with Mrs May’s 11-strong Brexit war committee meet to discuss it on Wednesday. The angry Cabinet minister told The Sun last night: “The customs union option currently favoured by No10 would be a disaster. “It is so fiendishly complicated that most trade experts have derided it. – The Sun Bernard Jenkin warns the PM that the EU ‘customs partnership’ would be unacceptable – BT Eurosceptics fear ‘bonkers’ post-Brexit customs union plan – FT (£) > WATCH on Brexit Central’s YouTube channel: Bernard Jenkin says a Commons vote to say in a customs union would pit Parliament against the people Could now ex-Home Secretary Amber Rudd now team up with Tory Brexit rebels and be a thorn in the side of Theresa May? She was being tipped as the next Prime Minister, but Amber Rudd’s political career was in tatters last night after she was forced to resign as Home Secretary. The prominent Remain supporter – the fourth Cabinet minister to fall on a sword in six months – had been seen as Theresa May’s protege after the Prime Minister anointed her as her successor at the Home Office. Now there is a risk she could team up with Tory Brexit rebels, including Nicky Morgan and Anna Soubry, on the backbenches and become a thorn in the side of the woman who did so much to shape her career. Miss Rudd’s time in Government almost came to an abrupt halt last June when she was only 346 votes away from losing her seat in Hastings and Rye. – Daily Mail Barnier ‘doesn’t understand’ unionist stance, says DUP leader Arlene Foster… DUP leader Arlene Foster has told the BBC that the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator “does not understand” the unionist position in Northern Ireland. Monday marks the start of Michel Barnier’s two-day visit to Ireland, which comes amid rising tensions over the future UK-Ireland border. Mr Barnier said the UK is contradicting itself over its Irish border policy. But Mrs Foster believes Mr Barnier does not understand the dispute and is “not an honest broker”. In December, the UK and EU reached a political agreement in which the UK committed to protecting north-south cooperation on the island of Ireland. It also guaranteed there would be no hard border, including physical infrastructure or related checks and controls. – BBC News …as her deputy warns that the EU is bullying Britain into remaining in a customs union after Brexit.. The DUP’s Westminster leader warned his party will not accept a Brexit deal that does not deliver on the “verdict of the people in the referendum”. Speaking on BBC Sunday Politics, Mr Dodds said: “I think that the EU are in the position at the minute, along with the Irish Government, of seeking to force the Government’s hand and try to bring pressure – even bullying in terms of what they would like to see as the outcome, which is the UK as a whole to stay inside the customs union and the single market. “The fact of the matter is that we will judge any proposals as far as the customs union is concerned against the criteria of whether or not it allows the UK to have as frictionless trade as possible with the rest of the EU.” – Express DUP’s Nigel Dodds has no regrets at not meeting EU Brexit negotiator during border visit – News Letter > WATCH on BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Nigel Dodds say membership of an EU Customs Union would not deliver on the verdict of the British people …while Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister says border talks are tense Negotiations on preventing a hard border after Brexit have reached a “tense” stage and efforts to find solutions are proving difficult, Simon Coveney has said. Mr Coveney, the tánaiste, will meet Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator, and Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, this morning before an all-island Brexit event. Negotiations have been fraught between the EU and Britain to agree a legally binding fallback position that would ensure no hard border would emerge in Ireland if no other solution can be found before the UK leaves the EU in March next year. – Times (£) Irish Government hosts fourth all-island forum on Brexit The Irish government is to hold an all-island forum examining the implications of Brexit later on Monday. The meeting will be hosted by the Taoiseach (Irish prime minister), Leo Varadkar, and his deputy, Simon Coveney. It will be the fourth time the forum has met since it was set up following the EU referendum in June 2016. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who supported Brexit, has always said there is no need for the forum. Monday’s meeting will take place at the Dundalk Institute of Technology, with representatives from the other main political parties expected to attend. – BBC News Hunt intensifies to solve Irish Brexit border dilemma – FT (£) UK must ‘resolve contradictions’ in border policy, says Barnier The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has told the UK the time has come for it to “resolve the contradictions” in its Irish border policy. Michel Barnier was writing in Ireland’s Sunday Independent newspaper ahead of a visit to the country on Monday. He said there will need to be “substantial progress” on the border issue by the next major meeting of EU leaders. They are due to assess progress on the border issue at a summit in June. Last week the Brexit Secretary David Davis suggested the EU was trying to create an “artificial deadline” in June as a negotiating tactic. – BBC News Barnier ‘crystal clear’ he will not sign any agreement that does not tackle border issue – Belfast Telegraph Confront myths and wilful distortions of anti-free trade lobby, Liam Fox urges People must confront the “myths and wilful distortions” perpetuated by the anti-free trade lobby, Liam Fox is set to say. The International Trade Secretary will call for people to champion the benefits of free trade – claiming there is both a “democratic duty” and “responsibility” to build the case – in a speech at the Speaker’s House on Monday. Dr Fox will say that for too long the argument has been focused on misleading claims about food standards, and that he wants to move the spotlight onto opportunities that can come from the global market. “It would be a major political mistake to assume that the case for free trade is so self-evident that it does not require champions today,” he expected to say. – ITV News EU drags UK into trade war with Asia over palm oil protectionism In the latest evidence that Britain needs to throw off Brussels rule as soon as possible, the EU’s proposed protectionist measures against palm oil have put at risk thousands of defence and aerospace jobs. Palm oil exports are a key part of the Malaysian, Indonesian and Thai economies. The three countries account for over 85 per cent of the industry due to be worth £65 billion by the end of the decade. But the EU is planning to ban the product claiming that it puts rainforests at risk. – Express > Brian Sturgess on BrexitCentral yesterday: Ministers should argue against Brussels protectionism during their final year at the EU table Preferential treatment for EU migrants post-Brexit could be racist, says UKIP leader Ukip leader Gerard Batten has suggested it could be considered “racist” for Sadiq Khan to say European Union migrants should be given preferential treatment after Brexit. The London mayor said he would “absolutely” support the Prime Minister if she gave preferential immigration rights to EU citizens, but Mr Batten called for a “fair system for anybody in the world”. Following Mr Khan’s interview on ITV’s Peston On Sunday, Mr Batten told the same programme that the former Labour MP had made the point that he wants to see a “preferential scheme for EU citizens over other migrants”. – Belfast Telegraph > WATCH on BrexitCentral’s YouTube: Gerard Batten on post-Brexit immigration Nicola Sturgeon accused of scaremongering over Brexit powers deal Nicola Sturgeon has been accused of “scaremongering” after she claimed UK Government proposals to resolve the dispute over post-Brexit powers would “completely demolish” the principle of the devolution settlement. The Scottish Conservatives said it was “sad” to see the First Minister reduced to such tactics and accused her of “taking the reins” from Michael Russell, her Brexit minister, after he said an agreement was still “perfectly possible”. He claimed there was not much separating the two sides, while she was warning in a newspaper article of the danger of a future Tory government ripping up flagship Holyrood legislation. – Telegraph SNP’s Michael Russell: Brexit deal ‘can still be done’ – BBC News Russell denies rift with Sturgeon over Brexit plans – Herald > Brian Monteith last week on BrexitCentral: Nicola Sturgeon is playing a high-stakes Brexit power game UK companies plan M&A spree in next 12 months Nearly two thirds of UK companies are planning to pursue M&A deals over the next year, a survey has suggested, a business confidence survey by accountancy firm EY showed that 65 per cent of UK companies planned M&A deals over the next 12 months, the highest level since 2010. Strong deal intentions among UK firms come against the backdrop of high confidence in global growth, with 86 per cent of UK respondents expecting the global economy to improve. Confidence in the UK economy was less strong with 68 per cent of those surveyed in the UK expected the domestic economy to advance. – City A.M. David Davis: Today’s Withdrawal Bill amendment would not give Brits the Brexit they deserve Just under three years ago, Parliament voted overwhelmingly to give the British people a choice: to stay in the European Union or to leave. Since then we have kept Parliament involved. My ministers have made over 30 appearances to answer questions and debate the issues. And we will be giving Parliament a vote on the final deal when we have concluded our negotiations with the EU. When all is said and done, I’m a Parliamentarian before a Minister, and a democrat before a Conservative. But there is a clear distinction between the important work of revising legislation and attempting to overturn the referendum result to keep the UK inside the European Union, in direct opposition to the British people. The amendment Labour have proposed today in the House of Lords is at risk of doing just that. – David Davis MP for The Sun Kate Hoey: Barnier brigade in Parliament must not stop Brexit They were backed by a small but vociferous group of Tory Remainer MPs who equally seem to detest their leader. The official policy of both the Government and the Opposition was to abstain and so most MPs were absent and the debate became just one more example of Remainer MPs talking to themselves and predicting doom for our country. Calling for the UK to stay in the customs union has become the last gasp of the Remainers’ attempt to thwart the wishes of the British people. It would be a backdoor to remain in the EU. It sets a tariff barrier around the entire EU, meaning additional charges are levied on goods coming from outside – and the tax on these are mostly syphoned off to Brussels. – Kate Hoey MP for the Express John Redwood MP: The balance of the Brexit Committee of the Cabinet Any Cabinet Minister who tries to delay his or her department getting on with the necessary preparatory work to allow us to leave with or without a deal next March is undermining the government’s policy and the UK’s position in the negotiations. Cabinet Ministers who accept the collective line that we are leaving the EU, the single market and the customs union are getting on with preparing suitable plans. More importantly they should also be preparing their policies to take advantage of our ability to make our own laws, spend our own money and control our own borders once we are out. There are lots of wins for us as long as we do take back full control as soon as possible. – John Redwood’s Diary Trevor Kavanagh: The Government’s lack of activity resembles a beached whale… and it’s about to blow Brexit Amber Rudd’s shock resignation as Home Secretary – or, more bluntly, her dismissal – is a personal tragedy. For Theresa May, for her fragile government, for Brexit and perhaps even for the fate of the nation it is a calamity. The bombshell comes four days before crucial town hall elections which, in London at least, could turn into a Tory rout. More alarming, it risks becoming the first fracture in the truce holding this administration together under Mrs May’s leadership. It is now possible to imagine this minority government being forced into a potentially disastrous general election and the rise of Britain’s first hard-left Marxist-led government. – Trevor Kavanagh for The Sun Juliet Samuel: How can a government which perpetrates the Windrush scandal be trusted with Brexit? The Windrush scandal is different from most other government mistakes because the injustice it inflicted is so grave. But in other ways, it is absolutely typical of the Government’s administrative performance. This bodes very ill for Brexit. This week, the Brexit subcommittee of Cabinet will gather to discuss its position on Britain’s customs arrangements. The Prime Minister is still clinging to an idea dreamt up by her chief Brexit adviser, which would involve Britain introducing and administering a complex double customs system so that it could perform regulatory checks and collect duties on the EU’s behalf, avoiding the need for an EU-UK border. – Juliet Samuel for the Telegraph (£) Daniel Hannan: Brexit Britain is far ahead in the race for AI How parochial our present anxieties will soon seem, how paltry. While we fret about chlorinated chicken and customs arrangements, developments in artificial intelligence are taking place that will transform our economy beyond recognition – and many of those developments are happening in Britain. Last week, Greg Clark, the Business Secretary, and Matt Hancock, the Digital Secretary, announced a billion-pound tech investment programme. “Artificial Intelligence is at the centre of our plans to make the UK the best place in the world to start and grow a digital business,” said the restless and ingenious Hancock. – Daniel Hannan MEP for the Telegraph (£) Brexit in brief Leaving the customs union is vital if Britain is to trade on a world stage – Telegraph (£) letters The president of the Association of Lighting Directors warns that a new directive could make all existing equipment obsolete – Guardian Austrian Chancellor Kurz says Brexit at top of agenda – Bloomberg