Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Theresa May reportedly won’t try to renegotiate the Withdrawal Agreement… Britain will soften its demand that the EU reopen the Brexit withdrawal agreement to solve the Irish backstop issue, The Times has learnt. The Brexit secretary Stephen Barclay suggested to the EU’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier during talks this week that the government could accept legal guarantees that fell short of renegotiating the draft withdrawal treaty. The revelation will enrage Brexiteers, who inflicted another defeat on Theresa May last night before she has further talks in Brussels next week. MPs rejected a motion supporting the government’s EU negotiating strategy by a majority of 45. – The Times (£) Theresa May’s strategy remains unchanged despite Tory row over defeat – BBC News UK could accept Brexit backstop assurances outside of divorce deal – diplomats – Reuters …but Cabinet Minister claims ‘11th hour’ agreement will prevent no deal A no-deal Brexit “will not happen” but any agreement will only be signed at the “11th hour”, a senior Cabinet member has told i. The minister raised doubts that Theresa May will force concrete changes to the Irish backstop to appease hardline Brexiteers in her party, but claimed she could secure enough from Brussels to convince Labour MPs to support her. With just 41 days until the UK officially leaves the EU, fears are growing on both sides of the Channel that a no-deal Brexit could happen by accident. But the Cabinet source dismissed the suggestion that the UK could leave without a deal, predicting that it will go down to the wire. “No deal will not happen, it just won’t happen,” the source told i. “There could be an extension of Article 50, or something very much like the existing deal will get through. “We just need to get legal wording that will give MPs enough to go back to their constituencies to say they have assurances and they can back the deal. It will happen at the 11th hour – high-stakes stuff.” – i News Donald Trump declares trade with UK will be “very substantially increased” as UK and US agree to preserve trading arrangements Donald Trump last night gave Britain a massive boost by declaring that trade between the UK and the US will be “very substantially increased” after Brexit.The US President announced that the special relationship will be “strengthened further” following a new mutual trade arrangement agreed by both countries worth at least at least £12.8billion a year for trans-Atlantic trade. He also significantly raised hopes of a wide-ranging free trade deal between the UK and US by insisting he wanted to see Trans-Atlantic business significantly increased. UK and US officials signed a “Mutual Recognition Agreement” earlier this week which will mean current trade relations between the historic Western allies will be preserved after Britain quits the EU. – Express Trump welcomes new UK-US deal, promising to ‘very, very substantially’ increase trade after Brexit – Independent Irish PM claims there is a ‘nasty surprise’ for those predicting EU disunity The Irish PM praises the bloc’s “remarkable solidarity”, saying Dublin’s “concerns have become the European Union’s concerns”. Those who believe the EU’s solidarity towards Ireland will falter over the Brexit backstop are “in for a nasty surprise”, the Irish prime minister has warned. Leo Varadkar said Dublin’s “concerns have become the European Union’s concerns” during the UK’s exit from the bloc. He told the All-Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit at Dublin Castle: “One of the most striking things about what has unfolded since the UK’s decision to leave has been the remarkable solidarity from the EU. “Despite many attempts to bilateralise issues or to divide the 27, the solidarity has been strong and resolute and those who think it will break at the last moment are in for a nasty surprise.” – Sky News EU-Irish solidarity ‘will not diminish’, says Varadkar – BBC News EU investors considering moves to the UK because of Brexit The narrative of a mass exodus of City jobs has already been consigned to the Project Fear dustbin of history, with just 2,000 jobs now expected to move in the event of no-deal, compared to wild predictions of over 230,000 before the referendum. Now the FT of all places is reporting that EU asset managers are actually considering moving to the UK because of Brexit. That wasn’t in the script… EU fund managers are up in arms over EU rules which would force them to trade dual-listed shares on uncompetitive EU exchanges after Brexit if the Commission refuse to give them access to London after Brexit. – Guido Fawkes UK judges could be thrown out of the European Court of Justice A top EU judge has said he does not know when Brexit will force UK judges to stop serving on the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Marc Jaeger, president of the general court at the ECJ, told the BBC he was waiting for Westminster to clarify the position. The UK government’s Brexit department said the “precise arrangements” were a matter for the court. The UK is due to leave the EU in six weeks, on 29 March. The European Court of Justice sits in Luxembourg and is the supreme court of the European Union. – BBC News Italy’s 5 Star Movement launch new group in the European Parliament… Luigi Di Maio, leader of the 5Star Movement and Italian deputy prime minister, on Friday announced the creation of a new group “of likeminded people” within the European Parliament ahead of May’s election. Joining the 5Stars are Croatia’s Zivi Zid (Human Shield), Finland’s liberal Liike Nyt, Greece’s AKKEL (the Agricultural Livestock Party), and Poland’s far-right Kukiz’15. Its main objective, according to a pamphlet handed to journalists at a press conference, is “to attract movements that don’t feel part of right-wing nationalist parties nor of traditional parties that have been part of the EU Parliament for 20 years and are the cause of the crazy policies that have led to the current fragmentation of Europe.” – Politico …as the European Parliament plans to expand to Indonesia, Ethiopia and New York The European Parliament is planning a bigger footprint around the world. Senior members of the assembly agreed at a closed-door meeting this week to approve plans to send permanent staff to Indonesia, Ethiopia and New York, two Parliament officials told Politico. The Parliament staffers will work at the EU delegation in Jakarta, the headquarters of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (also in Jakarta), the headquarters of the African Union, in Addis Ababa, as well as the EU delegation to the United Nations in New York. – Politico Belgian spy chief’s Russia link highlights security threat to EU A senior Belgian counter-intelligence officer is under house arrest after allegations that he spied for Russia in a case that could highlight the security threat to Nato and European Union headquarters in Brussels. The major, head of a division in Belgium’s external security department of the General Intelligence and Security Service (Giss), the equivalent of MI6, is suspected of passing secrets to Russia via a Serbian agent. In a further blow, Clement Vandenborre, the head of counterintelligence in Giss, has been removed from office pending an investigation into allegations he illegally destroyed documents. – The Times (£) Ross Clark: Wage growth, low inflation, economy growing and high employment… it’s Project Cheer A month before the 2016 referendum, the bank’s governor, Mark Carney, predicted Britain could fall into a “technical recession” if we voted to leave. It didn’t happen — or even come close to happening. Then on Wednesday, Carney stunned many with a speech saying Brexit could usher in a golden era of “international co-operation and crossborder commerce” and even that it could be a springboard to a “new global order” of free trade. It is true that economic growth in Britain is sluggish by historical standards, but then it has been ever since the economic crash of 2008/09. But at 0.2 per cent growth in the past three months, it is outpacing Germany, where the economy was static over the same period. Italy is in recession. – Ross Clark for The Sun Henry Hill: Letwin’s wildcat executive would reduce ministers to marionettes Brexit has prompted a huge volume of writing about the constitution, and spurious allegations of ‘constitutional outrages’ are not hard to find. But the consequences of what Letwin and his confederates propose are truly mind-boggling. Earlier this month, I wrote about the unwisdom of the ‘Meaningful Vote’ as a constitutional innovation. So much of the incoherence which critics of the Government claim are making the UK a laughing stock on the international stage are rooted in the fact that the Commons has deprived ministers of their normal powers to conduct foreign relations and conclude treaties. Of course, the impact of the Meaningful Vote pales in comparison to what Letwin proposes to unleash. But they each have their roots in the same dogma: that it is right and good to expand the power of the House of Commons, regardless of the circumstances. – Henry Hill for Conservative Home James Webber: As the proposed Withdrawal Agreement is re-considered, no one should ignore its state aid provisions The concept of State aid is much much wider than is commonly appreciated…In the transition, the EU retains full jurisdiction over State aid in the UK while the UK loses all of its political power in the EU. This is the basic bargain of transition – but the difficulties this causes are particularly acute in State aid as the European Commission has ability to approve or disallow fiscal decisions falling within the definition of aid. The Withdrawal Agreement requires the Commission as a legal matter to treat the UK as if it were still a Member State – and legally it will almost certainly do so. But the State aid system of control has always mixed law and politics. While the UK was treated fairly as a Member State, with the UK powerless, there is room for the Commission to treat the UK differently in ways that are non-justiciable (i.e. not open to legal challenge). – James Webber for Politeia John Longworth: Richard Harrington should be careful in his crusade against Tory Brexiteer ‘traitors’ Like a true party loyalist, Richard Harrington has suggested that 66 of his fellow MPs should join another political party. In the world of party politics, that is the political equivalent of fratricide and indicates, proof positive, just how low Parliament and the Conservative Party have sunk. Mr Harrington, an obscure junior minister about whom I must confess I know little and, until recently, had never heard of, appears to have appointed himself as the self-styled spokesperson of the “true” Conservative Party. – John Longworth for the Telegraph (£) James Forsyth: Theresa May needs to push a few Brexit boundaries with the EU after the latest crunch No Deal vote defeat in Commons When Theresa May goes to Brussels next week to bat for changes to the backstop, she will do so with a large crack in her bat. The symbolic defeat that MPs inflicted on her Brexit plan on Thursday night has significantly weakened her negotiating position. The EU doesn’t want to make significant changes to the backstop. It repeats endlessly that the withdrawal agreement is closed and that it isn’t going to reopen it. When the Brady amendment passed the House of Commons, saying Parliament would accept the deal if the backstop was replaced, the EU responded by saying they didn’t think this Parliament majority was “stable”. Thursday night’s vote helps them make that argument. As one No10 source laments: “We don’t want to give the Europeans a chance not to engage with us.”I understand that when the Brexit Secretary, Steve Barclay, dined in Brussels this week Sabine Weyand — the EU’s deputy negotiator — spent her time telling him that a customs union was the only major change available to the backstop. – James Forsyth for The Sun Michael Fabricant: Democracy-hating Remainers are the true extremists On Thursday, the Government lost its main Brexit motion before the House of Commons by attempting to be all things to all wings of the Conservative Party. Incorporating not only changes made by the Brady Amendment which called for the backstop to be renegotiated, but also Caroline Spelman’s amendment ruling out no deal, proved unacceptable to Brexiteers as a serious negotiating ploy. After all, would any serious trade union take strike action off the table before negotiating with management? It would be a gift to employers. Long-standing tensions between Remainers and Brexiteers in the Conservative Party are mounting as we approach March 29. Nicky Morgan’s decision to back the Malthouse Compromise has seen her “lose friends” and be removed “from a fair number of WhatsApp groups”. – Michael Fabricant MP for the Telegraph (£) Comment in Brief If the hotel is on fire it’s better to get out before the roof falls in – Briefings for Brexit podcast Is there now clear blue water between the DUP and the ERG on Brexit? – Owen Polley for CapX The Airbus A380 should be the last European ‘grand projet’ – Matthew Lynn for the Telegraph (£) Brexiteers may not trust the PM, but their move against her could massively backfire – Tom Harris for the Telegraph (£) Here’s the only way Britain has left of leaving the EU in a respectable and orderly way – Andrew Duff for the Telegraph (£) Project Fear knows no shame – Joel Casement for The Commentator The Remain Parliament tries again to stop Brexit – John Redwood’s Diary Big business is wrong on the Euro and wrong now – Joshua Mackenzie–Lawrie of Get Britain Out for CommentCentral Tory hard-liners must compromise on Brexit deal or they open No10 door to Corbyn’s extremists – The Sun editorial News in Brief Wall Street divided on Brexit – Goldman sees a deal, JPMorgan sees a delay – Reuters How Jean-Claude Juncker admitted he would ignore result of EU referendum – Express Has Chris Grayling left the UK’s ports prepared for a no-deal Brexit? – Independent Theresa May letting zealots turn Tory Party into another Ukip, claims Nick Barebones Boles – The Times (£) Sajid Javid faces fresh storm over Channel migrant crisis as Border Force still has no patrol boat – The Sun