Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Boris Johnson warns Theresa May not to deliver a ‘bog roll Brexit’ that is ‘soft, yielding and infinitely long’… Boris Johnson has warned Theresa May not to allow a “bog roll Brexit” – that is soft, messy and goes on forever. The Foreign Secretary’s powerful new intervention comes in an article for The Sun today to mark the second anniversary of the EU referendum. The Leave campaign boss speaks out just 12 days before the Cabinet meets at Chequers for a final showdown on what to ask the EU for in a future relationship. It emerged this week that pro-Remain Cabinet ministers are pushing the PM to offer Brussels a major compromise that could see the UK staying in the single market for goods only… As well as the new single market threat, business bosses are also stepping up their calls to extend the two year transition period to keep the UK under the EU’s rules for many more years. Plane maker Airbus yesterday warned the current period was too short for it to make changes to its supply chain to mainland Europe. Chancellor Philip Hammond and Business Secretary Greg Clark are urging No10 to listen to the calls and extend the glide path out. But Boris brands the alarms as “the same old project fear stuff that we ignored two years ago”. Instead, he insists “the doomsters have been routed” with record low unemployment, the FTSE up and foreign investment up. – The Sun Boris Johnson compares Brexit to ‘bog roll’ as he says Britain ‘doesn’t want a … soft, yielding and seemingly infinitely long’ withdrawal process – Daily Mail ‘It is time to take back control’ – Johnson warns May not to deliver ‘bog roll’ Brexit – Express Boris Johnson warns against ‘bog roll Brexit’ as pro-EU campaigners prepare to march – Sky News The people want us to deliver a full British Brexit and we must bust out of the corsets of EU regulation – Boris Johnson for The Sun …while David Davis says Britain is heading for a ‘fantastic’ future outside the EU and reveals Government’s ‘no deal’ preparations are more advanced than publicly stated… Britain is heading for a “fantastic” future of prosperity and opportunity outside the EU, David Davis has said today in an exclusive interview to mark two years since the historic EU referendum vote… Mr Davis also warned Remainers still plotting to thwart the referendum result that Theresa May’s victory this week in Parliament for her Brexit Bill makes quitting the EU in March next year “inevitable”. He said: “The Prime Minister has now got the freedom to negotiate to get a good deal,” Mr Davis said, adding: “This is a big national project, there is nothing more important.” …Mr Davis rejected claims from some backbench Tories that the Government had made inadequate preparations for quitting without a deal. “There’s lots going on, we haven’t made it public for very simple reasons,” Mr Davis said. “This is a careful process, it is not designed to scare the horses to worry people, it is designed to get the work done. Work is being done on migration, on health standards, on the EHIC card when people are going on holiday. Work is going on all these things for both the negotiated outcome and if something goes wrong.” – Express …as Liam Fox warns Theresa May’s threat to walk away from Brexit talks if Brussels tries to punish Britain is not a bluff Theresa May is not ‘bluffing’ about her threat to walk away from Brexit talks if Brussels tries to punish Britain, Liam Fox said last night. Speaking on the second anniversary of the EU referendum, the international trade secretary remained confident of getting a good trade deal with Brussels. But he warned Brussels not to underestimate Britain’s resolve to walk away if it continues to stall on trade… Dr Fox also made it clear he would not accept plans being floated in Whitehall to stay in the customs union for goods, while cutting free on services. ‘That wouldn’t be acceptable to me for two reasons,’ he said. ‘First of all, it would imply the acceptance of free movement of people, which I think was rejected by the public in the referendum. And secondly, it’s likely to mean oversight by the European Court.’ – Daily Mail Boris Johnson calls for ‘full British Brexit’ two years after referendum as Fox insists government ‘is not bluffing on no-deal’ – Independent Liam Fox trade interview – Callum Jones for The Times (£) Hammond and Clark ‘understood’ to be urging businesses to speak out ahead of crunch Cabinet meeting as BMW echoes Airbus calls for soft Brexit… Business leaders launched a concerted campaign yesterday to shift cabinet thinking on Britain’s future trading relationship with Europe before a critical meeting of ministers next month. BMW weighed in behind Airbus to become the latest firm warning that it could withdraw investment unless Theresa May negotiated a Brexit deal that kept Britain closely aligned with Europe… The plan is to strengthen the arguments of pro-European ministers before a two-day cabinet meeting at Chequers next month to thrash out the British negotiating strategy… Pro-European ministers led by Philip Hammond, the chancellor, and Greg Clark, the business secretary, are understood to be pushing Mrs May to drop her insistence that Britain leave the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice after the transition period. They hope that this could open the door for a deal that would allow the UK to remain in effect inside the single market for manufactured goods alongside a limited customs arrangement… Mr Clark and Mr Hammond are understood to have urged firms to make their views clear before the meeting. – The Times (£) Downing Street downplays fears of Airbus quitting UK over no-deal EU withdrawal – Independent Airbus workers at Broughton factory divided over risk to their future – The Times (£) More firms may follow Airbus in Brexit threat, says CBI – Guardian More UK businesses join Airbus lead on hard Brexit warning – FT (£) Greg Clark: securing free movement for UK workers in EU is vital – Guardian Ignore manufacturers’ complaints on Brexit, Farage tells May – Bloomberg Airbus and Brexit: Voters will sit up and listen when jobs are at stake – Matthew Parris for The Times (£) Philip Hammond and Airbus: stand tall for jobs – Guardian editorial British business has been far too quiet on Brexit – FT editorial (£) Airbus’s warning over Brexit is blunt, timely and right – Independent editorial Could Article 50 end up being extended and Brexit delayed? – James Forsyth for the Spectator …as Minister warns Airbus it will lose huge defence contracts if it pulls out of UK over Brexit… Ben Wallace, the security minister, reminded the firm that without the support of Britain it would not have been able to cover its budget overruns on the A400m transporter aircraft, of which the RAF has 14. Meanwhile Jack Lopresti, the MP whose constituency includes Airbus’s Bristol factory, suggested EU member states were “using Airbus to try to influence the UK Government into giving them what they want in any Brexit deal”. As a row between Airbus and the Government escalated, he said the firm was making “ridiculous and empty threats” because he met senior managers of the company on Thursday and Brexit “wasn’t mentioned by the firm once”. – Telegraph …while Welsh Conservatives play down Airbus warning as ‘hyperbole’ The leader of the Welsh Conservative Party on Friday rubbished Airbus’ warning that it may be forced to move its operations outside the UK after Brexit as “hyperbole,” and called the company’s announcement a “disservice” to its employees. Andrew Davies, leader of the party, conceded Airbus was “an important company” for the UK and Wales, but said it was “worth remembering” that it was the “dynamic highly skilled UK workforce” that had made the company “the success it had become.” “Talking so casually about de-camping to China does those workers a disservice, and you’d think that Airbus was the first company to entertain slashing costs and by extension standards — and it doesn’t usually end well,” he said. “We are getting to the business end of the negotiations, and there is a lot of hyperbole flying around.” – FT (£) “Set to” doing a lot of heavy lifting in Times Airbus splash – Guido Fawkes Airbus, Project Fear and the truth about a no deal Brexit – Andrew Lilico for CapX Airbus wouldn’t get off the ground without Britain’s help despite what bosses say about Brexit – Hamish McRae for the Daily Mail > WATCH: Hugh Bennett: Airbus threats a “political manoeuvre plain and simple” Jean-Claude Juncker promises EU will not impose hard Irish border “under any circumstances” – even if negotiations fail and there is no deal Jean-Claude Juncker was given a severe dressing down during a meeting of the Irish parliament and upper house about why the people of Ireland should trust the EU. Richard Boyd Barrett, a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Dún Laoghaire constituency, asked Mr Juncker how the EU could be trusted on Brexit after turning Mediterranean Sea borders “into a fortress”. He said: “The European Union shoved €60million worth of toxic banking debt down the throats of the Irish people and we are still dealing with the consequences in terms of a dire housing and health crisis. The EU has allowed 15,000 desperate migrants to drown in the Mediterranean Sea because of its fortress Europe policies which it is escalating. So why should we trust you with our border or with the interests of the people in this country? I have a simple question in relation to the border if negotiations fail with the Tory Government on the exit agreement and those negotiations collapse will you give us a clear commitment that the European Union will not impose a border, customs posts or any other infrastructure on the frontier? “We don’t trust the Tories but can we trust you that there will be no border under any circumstances?” Mr Juncker replied quickly with a firm “yes”. – Express Fury at Juncker as EU uses ‘Ireland as bargaining chip’ in Brexit row – Express No-deal Brexit plans discussed at British Irish Council – BBC News Former Irish official claims Ireland may introduce passport checks post-Brexit despite common travel area – Express Brussels to launch emergency probe into how member states plan to secure British expats’ rights post-Brexit following criticism from Sajid Javid Brussels will launch an emergency probe into how member states plan to secure British expats’ rights post-Brexit after being rapped by Sajid Javid. Guy Verhofstadt revealed euro MPs have significant concerns about the lack of preparation being made in many countries with just nine months to go. On Thursday the Home Secretary unveiled an extensive settled status scheme that will allow up to four million EU citizens to stay in the UK. But officials say they have not heard back from any European countries about what measures they will adopt for the 1.3 million Brits on the continent… In response, Mr Verhofstadt agreed that he was “far from happy” with the say many EU member states are approaching the issue. He said: “The EU Parliament will soon launch an extensive process in order to scrutinise the preparations being made by EU countries for British expats. “We continue to believe the unresolved issue of onward movement rights must also be addressed for any deal to be reached.” – The Sun EU diplomats accuse Boris Johnson of ‘four-letter reply’ to business concerns about Brexit EU diplomats have claimed that during a Foreign Office reception to celebrate the Queen’s birthday last week, the Foreign Secretary was asked about the fears of some business leaders over Brexit and replied: “f*** business.” He was also overheard talking about Theresa May’s moves towards a softer Brexit and saying: “We will fight it and we will win.” … Sources close to Mr Johnson disputed whether he used the bad language alleged, while insisting that he had been attacking business lobbyists such as the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) which wanted a policy that suited their vested interests rather than ordinary working people… Last night a source close to Mr Johnson said: “No-one has done more to back hard-working British businesses than Boris. “He was attacking lobbyists like the EU-funded CBI who are more interested in doing what’s right for big multinational corporations instead of helping ordinary working Brits.” – Telegraph (£) Johnson accused of four-letter response to industry concerns – The Times (£) SNP says Holyrood ‘won’t approve any Brexit bills’ Nicola Sturgeon has accused the UK government of “ripping up” the devolution settlement. The first minister also said she was “proud” of SNP MPs who walked out of Prime Minister’s Questions in protest over the UK government’s handling of the bill. The walkout was derided by opponents as a “pre-arranged stunt” aimed only at furthering the cause of independence… Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Scotland programme, Mr Russell said he “couldn’t conceive of circumstances” where MSPs would vote to give approval for further UK legislation related to leaving the EU, such as trade, agriculture and fisheries… Mr Lidington, who sat next to Ms Sturgeon in the media conference, said trust was “certainly important” and that there had been “serious disagreement” over the Brexit bill. He added: “I obviously disagree with Nicola’s analysis and I believe the Sewel Convention has been upheld in full, as indeed Lord Sewel himself has said.” – BBC News SNP accused of using Brexit in bid to bring independence closer as Scotland’s Brexit Minister says Holyrood ‘will not approve any Brexit bills’ – Telegraph No ‘middle way’ on EU powers while SNP blames England for everything – Alan Cochrane for the Telegraph (£) French engineering firm Colas ‘is ready to invest billions in Brexit Britain’… French engineering firm Colas is ready to invest billions in Brexit Britain, bosses revealed last night. It comes as Theresa May hit back at Airbus after the aerospace giant said they would cut ties if the UK crashes out of the EU without a deal. The PM warned it was not in their interest to “disrupt the supply chain” in a row set to overshadow today’s second anniversary of the historic exit referendum. But in a boost, an 18-month review by executive director Carl Fergusson has identified new opportunities in the UK and led to the creation of a new business unit called Colas UK Projects… “The pace of change that we have decided that we want to achieve can’t be achieved just by organic growth. So it will require acquisitions,” he said. “You will find that we’re not talking about millions, we’re talking about billions,” he said. – The Sun …as investors say Brexit has had a positive impact on their trading — despite Remainers’ fears for economy Just one in four of investors say Brexit has impacted their finances – despite nine in ten fearing the worst for the stock market two years ago. On the anniversary of the Brexit vote, three quarters of financiers said the result of the historic referendum has had a positive impact – or made no difference to their trading. Stockbroking boss Richard Stone from the The Share Centre, who surveyed 1,500 clients, said: “It is certainly the case that personal investors’ fears of the impacts of a vote to Leave on the stock-market have not materialised.” He added: “For most personal investors rising markets since the Referendum result have driven portfolio values up and generally improved sentiment.” – The Sun Boris Johnson: The people want us to deliver a full British Brexit and we must bust out of the corsets of EU regulation It was two years ago today that the people of this country stunned the world… In a heroic act of national self belief we decided to take back control of our laws, our borders, and all the cash that we send to Brussels… And in the 24 months that have passed we have seen that confidence vindicated. the doomsters have been routed… Across the country I find people who – whatever they voted two years ago – just want us to get on and do it. They don’t want a half-hearted Brexit. They don’t want some sort of hopeless compromise, some perpetual pushme-pullyou arrangement in which we stay half in and half out in a political no mans land – with no more ministers round the table in Brussels and yet forced to obey EU laws. They don’t want some bog roll Brexit – soft, yielding and seemingly infinitely long… Of course I recognise that there are some people who still think it won’t happen. There are some who are still intent on watering Brexit down. There are some who would be content if we ended up with the worst of both worlds – out of the EU but still largely run by the EU. That is because they secretly want to reduce Brexit to an absurdity and then campaign to take the UK back in. And they are still trotting out the same old project fear stuff that we ignored two years ago. They were wrong then and they are wrong now. They have underestimated this country. They have underestimated the courage and determination of Theresa May. Two years ago the people of this country recorded a verdict about themselves: that they had the guts to believe in Britain. They were right and they will be proved right in the decades ahead. It is time to take back control. – Boris Johnson for The Sun David Davis: We’ve achieved so much already – now we must fulfil our free-trade destiny My department is finalising our White Paper, which will build on the plans we have already spelt out and give critical detail to the form we want our new economic and security partnerships with the EU to take. It will tackle the misconception that the United Kingdom doesn’t know what it wants out of these negotiations. Two years on from the referendum, rather than looking back, we need to focus on where we want to be two, 10, 20 years into the future. With Britain taking advantage of its destiny as the world’s great free-trading nation. There are only a few months to go until we leave the EU, and embark on a bright new future for this country. One that sees us going out in the world, to forge relationships with old friends and new allies, banging the drum for British business and talent. It’s the Brexit that people voted for two years ago today – and it’s the Brexit we are delivering. – David Davis for the Telegraph (£) The Sun: Leaving the EU may not be smooth in short-term — but Theresa May must boldly press forward with Brexit Two years to the day since Leave won the historic Brexit referendum, it is depressing that the campaign to undermine it is still being fought — and with such dangerous and toxic intensity. So much damage has been done to Britain since June 23, 2016 — not by the vote, but by the refusal of hardcore Remainers to accept it. They are not of course to blame for all the chaos. It is staggering that the Government is still undecided on fundamental principles… Brussels has revelled in Britain tearing itself apart. Now it is sidetracked by its own problems. A deal looks miles off. Theresa May has only one path forward. At next month’s pivotal vote, she must defeat the backbench rebellion hoping to shackle us to a customs union restricting our trading future. That is not Brexit, as voters would quickly realise. It would reignite the Leave campaign with unprecedented ferocity. And the PM and her Cabinet must not be derailed by Remain-fanatic businesses muttering about pulling out. Previous such threats have proved bogus, like all those dire economic forecasts. – The Sun says Juliet Samuel: Greece has a lesson for Brexit Britain: If you’re going to surrender to the EU, do it fast Greece’s experience is a salutary lesson in how not to handle the EU – a lesson that Britain has ignored. When Athens was at the peak of its bargaining power in 2009, and could have brought down the Eurozone, its panicked leaders grovelled. Six years later, when EU leaders had had enough of Athens, and German and French banks had cut their Greek exposure, a new, populist government played and lost a very expensive game of bluff with Brussels… Britain is following in these footsteps. We have been throwing away all our best cards (autonomy over triggering Article 50, the cash, access to our market), alternating supine with belligerent rhetoric, issuing hollow threats, fighting among ourselves and failing to prepare seriously for any outcome but surrender… It’s too late to mitigate the effects of leaving without a deal. The Government needed to have laid out an independent trade policy, procured the systems required to run it, set up new regulatory agencies and educated businesses about how to navigate it all. Instead, it has set itself up for a wholesale surrender. If it is going to do that, Greece’s example shows that you should do it fast. The longer you bluff, when your opponent knows you’ve already laid down your best cards, the more expensive it gets. – Juliet Samuel for the Telegraph (£) Andrew Lilico: Airbus, Project Fear and the truth about a no deal Brexit We should also be sceptical about relocation threats on the “cried wolf” principle. A lot was made about Airbus’s decision to trade in euros in the early 2000s and the threat of relocation then if the UK did not join the euro. It never happened. During the EU referendum Airbus was frequently cited as a firm that would relocate if there were a vote to leave. But in February 2018 the company committed to staying in Britain “long into the future”. Furthermore, the scenario this “risk assessment” deals with – a no deal Brexit with no transition deal either – is one the UK government says it is committed to avoiding. Indeed, most of the political signals appear to be that the UK government is intent on reconstructing almost all the features of EU membership and will let the EU be seen to “force” it to do what it manifestly wants to do anyway. – Andrew Lilico for CapX James Forsyth: Migration is the biggest issue at the EU Council meeting — not the post-Brexit relationship The Government is resigned to not getting much out of next week’s EU Council meeting. They are acutely aware that for the EU 27 Brexit isn’t the biggest issue on the agenda, migration is. One Government source tells me: “It’ll be a non-event. They’ve far too much to discuss among themselves.” Migration is plunging European politics into crisis again… But this crisis is making it more difficult for Britain to get a reasonable Brexit deal. The European Commission is running the Brexit negotiations. Its priority is in defending the theology of the European Union, rather than finding practical solutions… Mrs May and co have long hoped that the member states, nearly all of whose economies would be hurt by such a limited agreement, would intervene at some point and tell the Commission to engage more constructively with the UK. But this is happening all too rarely. One of the reasons is, in the words of one member of the Brexit inner Cabinet: “Only four national capitals are fully across Brexit.” Many of the countries that are most sympathetic to the UK don’t have the capacity to follow all of the issues concerned… I am told that when Brexit is discussed in meetings [Angela Merkel] is “visibly distracted”, turning to aides for advice far more frequently than she does on other issues. – The Sun Migration, not Brexit, now tops the EU’s agenda – Macer Hall for the Express Nationalists are ripping up the Franco‑German map of Europe – David Charter for The Times (£) Telegraph: Britain must be bolder about Brexit The US ambassador has said Britain should shake off its “defeatist” attitude towards Brexit, and sometimes it takes a friendly guest to spot what is amiss. The establishment’s ongoing refusal to accept the referendum result and its full implications has weakened national leadership and direction, and the Government must do better than just pledging a distribution of the Brexit dividend to the NHS (backed by tax rises). It should be promoting tax cuts, reform of VAT, speedy control of fishing waters, deregulation, deals with emerging markets and a new border regime. What most businesses ultimately want is certainty. Talk of parliamentary coups to keep the UK in the customs union, or force a second referendum, are self-inflicted wounds on a country that, if it just got on with things, as Mr Cameron once said it would, can emerge as a free-trading, independent nation. – Telegraph editorial (£) Comment in brief Labour’s red-on-red infighting over Brexit is intensifying – Mark Wallace for ConservativeHome Brexit voters stick to their guns despite grumbles about May – Chris Tighe for the FT (£) Time to bask in both good weather and good news – Express editorial The EU’s war on what makes the internet great – Oliver Wiseman for CapX Monty Python and the Holy Grail of Brexit – Richard Littlejohn for the Daily Mail There’s still time to stop Brexit – here’s how – Hugo Dixon for the Independent Our modern, multiracial society should be a lesson to the world — Britain is easily best place to live for people of colour – Trevor Phillips for The Sun Parliament must not frustrate Brexit – Robert Bates for Get Britain Out The Government should defy Brussels laws and kick out EU criminals and rapists after Brexit – The Sun says A nail in the coffin of Brexit-phobic House of Lords – Get Britain Out’s Stephen Mitchell for the Commentator News in brief John Bercow aims to stay on as Speaker to oversee Brexit process – Guardian Three quarters of Brits back dramatic fall in immigration according to poll – Politico If you want strong defence you have to pay for it, US envoy Woody Johnson tells Britain – The Times (£) EU diplomat attacks Britain’s negotiating efforts – Express Anti-Brexit Campaigners to demand second referendum in London march – BBC News