Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team ‘Irate’ Michael Gove physically rips up PM’s customs plan after attempted civil service whitewash with Cabinet split over negotiating approach… A deep new Cabinet split has opened up over Theresa’s May new Brexit compromises – as it also emerged Michael Gove physically tore up her customs plan. The irate Environment Secretary stunned officials by ripping a document he disliked in two at a meeting this week. The dramatic scene came as tensions around the PM’s top table spiral again ahead of a showdown at Chequers where Britain’s demands for a future EU relationship will finally be thrashed out next Friday. Downing Street are desperate to make big new offers to the EU in a bid to restart stalled Brexit talks… But in a major negotiating strategy clash, Brexiteer ministers instead insist the PM wait for an “inevitable” last minute climb down by EU leaders themselves in October, when panic about no deal sets in. One Leave backing Cabinet minister told The Sun: “Ireland is desperate for a deal, their economy is totally screwed without one. Belgium will see 4% lopped off its GDP too. Of course they will do a deal with us. But everything happens at the last minute with the EU, so we must not be afraid to hold our nerve”. – The Sun Gove was looking at the new customs partnership, which is Theresa May’s preferred model and would see the UK collecting tariffs on the EU’s behalf. Nearly all Brexiteers, including Gove, see this model as bureaucratic, unworkable and fear it will make Britain a far less attractive country to do a trade deal with. Gove and Liam Fox, the two Brexiteers on the three-man working group, had made these points repeatedly in the six weeks of meetings they have had on the subject. But on Wednesday night, when they were presented with the civil service summary of their discussions, they found these points had been downplayed to almost nothing. Instead, the document implied the group thought the new customs partnership was workable. Gove was livid about this and physically ripped it up to show he wasn’t prepared to accept the document as a summary of their discussions. This flash of anger shows that Downing Street would be making a very big mistake if it assumed Gove will accept – and sell to fellow Brexiteers – any deal with the EU, no matter how flawed it is and how much it tied the UK’s hands for the future. – James Forsyth for The Sun Brexiteer Gove physically ‘tears up’ May’s customs plans as cabinet spirals out of control – Express Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson ‘poised to walk out’ over May’s Brexit compromise – Express …as Theresa May is urged to dump Remainer Greg Clark from Cabinet in major Brexit clear-out Theresa May needs to clear out Remainers in her cabinet starting with business secretary Greg Clark, a powerful pro-Brexit group has demanded. John Longworth, the co-chairman of Leave Means Leave, which is backed by more than 50 Tory parliamentarians, has warned that the “so-called soft Brexit” pushed for by Mr Clark is undermining Britain’s negotiation strategy. Writing for the Daily Express online, Mr Longworth, the former director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, has said that in “normal circumstances” Mr Clark would have been sacked for a speech he made earlier this week urging caution with the talks… “It is even more troublesome that Greg Clark thinks that a so-called ‘soft Brexit’ is acceptable given that this would be in direct contradiction of the Prime Minister’s red lines and, more importantly still, would undermine the manifesto on which he and the Conservatives were elected. This manifesto explicitly promised that we would leave the SM, the CU and the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.” He added: “In normal times Greg Clark would be sacked, and justifiably so, but these are not normal times.” – Express Multinationals don’t care about Britain – but are trying to dictate our future – John Longworth for the Express Britain facing rout by Europe, warns former Brexit minister Lord Bridges – The Times (£) An open letter to the Cabinet: it’s time to compromise on Brexit – Lord Bridges of Headley for the Evening Standard All eyes now on Cabinet Brexit decision – Laura Kuenssberg for BBC News A weekend of murder for May – Macer Hall for the Express Disputes and dysfunction reign in a Cabinet all at sea – Sam Coates for The Times (£) Tory cabinet ructions betray a prime minister losing authority – Bronwen Maddox for the FT (£) If May ran a business she’d be fired by now – Matthew Parris for The Times (£) A betrayal, a contortion, a rash, a shambles, a schism, a squabble. What’s the best collective noun for Cabinet ministers? – Iain Dale for ConservativeHome We weep for Theresa May’s Brexit tactics — her ‘single market for goods’ plan is a pitiful compromise – The Sun says > John Longworth on BrexitCentral today: The Government should ignore the special pleading from false voices of business Theresa May to visit Angela Merkel for Brexit talks in July… U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May will visit Angela Merkel in Berlin next month, the German chancellor said in Brussels Friday. May will fly to the German capital for talks on Britain’s departure from the EU amid growing tensions between London and Brussels and warnings time is running out to reach an agreement… May’s visit to Berlin, expected to be Thursday, July 12 according to one U.K. official, is part of a diplomatic push by the British prime minister to make progress in Brexit negotiations before the summer in a bid to reach an agreement on the terms of Britain’s divorce by October… Merkel revealed details of the proposed meeting after being questioned by journalists about why so little time was given to Brexit during the EU summit in Brussels. – Politico …as May says Brexit negotiations must ‘accelerate and intensify’… Brexit talks must “accelerate and intensify” once the Government has published its detailed blueprint for withdrawal next month, Theresa May has said. The Prime Minister called for talks with Brussels to speed up after she warned EU leaders that their citizens’ lives will be at risk if they fail to reach a deal with Britain. Meanwhile, Mrs May is reportedly preparing to deliver her fourth major speech on Brexit in which she will set out what she wants the UK’s future relationship with the EU to look like. The Government is due to publish its Brexit white paper, detailing the terms on which the UK will engage with the bloc after withdrawal, in the middle of July after a Cabinet showdown next week. – Telegraph …while Donald Tusk says UK is facing ‘last call’ to make progress on Brexit with EU officials set to reject Single Market goods plan… Donald Tusk has given Theresa May a “last call” to explain what Britain wants from Brexit as EU officials warned they would “shoot down” UK plans to remain in the single market for goods only. With only weeks of negotiating time left before the October deadline for a Brexit deal, Mr Tusk, the President of the European Council, said a “great deal of work” lay ahead as “the most difficult tasks are still unresolved”… There has been growing speculation that Mrs May will back a soft Brexit at the summit, involving the UK remaining in a customs union with the EU and stay in “high alignment” with EU rules and regulations for goods. However, senior EU sources have told The Telegraph that Mr Barnier will “shoot down” any attempt by the UK to remain in the “single market for goods”, where Britain remains aligned on goods but free to diverge on services. – Telegraph (£) EU leaders say single-market access for goods a non-starter – Guardian Theresa May is ready for Brexit negotiations to ‘accelerate and intensify’ but Michel Barnier says big divergences remain – City A.M. EU reprimands UK over pace of Brexit talks beset by ‘huge differences’ – FT (£) ‘Last call’ for deal, Donald Tusk warns UK – BBC News Forget cherry picking and security — focus on fixing Irish border, EU tells May – The Times (£) Belgian Prime Minister ‘not very optimistic’ on Brexit talks – Bloomberg David Davis has spent just four hours in talks with Michel Barnier this year – FT (£) If Michel Barnier wants a workable Brexit deal, he needs Brussels to be realistic too – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) …and Irish PM Leo Varadkar is told to ‘start behaving like an adult’ Speaking in Brussels, the Taoiseach claimed Theresa May had talked him through her upcoming Brexit White Paper – which will map out the UK’s Brexit ambitions. And he insisted there could be no “cherry picking” of EU rules by the PM – such as wanting access to the single market but limiting immigration. He said: “While we regret them leaving, we are not going to let them destroy it.” … Tory Eurosceptic Iain Duncan Smith said Mr Varadkar should stop “strutting around and start behaving like an adult”. He said: “He’s behaving like we are an enemy not a friend. He seems to forget in the financial crisis it was Britain that borrowed money to help Ireland when the EU wasn’t prepared to help at all. He’s strutting around like he runs the EU and needs to start acting like a friend and neighbour.” – The Sun Varadkar considering calling snap ‘Brexit election’ in Ireland as opposition leader accuses him of acting like he has ‘divine power to rule’ – Express Liability Leo – The Sun says EU migration deal ‘papering over cracks’ in Europe A deal to cut the flow of migrants from Africa may not be worth the paper it is written on because it has failed to bridge deep divisions across European capitals, senior EU figures admitted yesterday… After a long night of fractious and bad-tempered negotiations that lasted nine hours and broke up at 4.30am yesterday Italy’s new populist and anti-immigrant government repeatedly threatened to veto a deal… “This is a bit of paper that will never become reality. It is a mess and will discredit the EU because it is unworkable and everyone knows it is unworkable,” said an aide to a prime minister. “The Italian behaviour was a disgrace and the EU will not be able to function if they carry on like this.” Germany, France, Spain and other countries fear that a summit compromise will allow populist and anti-immigration governments in Hungary, Austria, Poland and other east European member states to opt out of sharing the refugee burden. At the same time the Italian government has refused to sign-up to an agreement allowing migrants registered as asylum claimants in Italy to be returned there if they then travel to Germany or France. – The Times (£) Europe’s migration fiasco: Brussels plan to build EU migrant centre descends into farce as leaders queue to say ‘not in my back yard’ – Daily Mail ‘De-facto failure’: EU summit derailed by deep divisions between leaders – Express The EU elite is realising the cost of uncontrolled migration – John Longworth for the Telegraph (£) Europe must defend its external border, build a wall even – Iain Martin for Reaction Could ‘refugee cities’ be the answer to the migrant crisis? – Pieter Cleppe for CapX If this is a “fortress Europe”, it is a fortress full of faultlines – Guardian editorial Growing pressure on Jeremy Corbyn from Momentum to turn against Brexit Momentum, the grassroots political movement that helped to sweep Jeremy Corbyn to the leadership of Britain’s Labour party, is putting growing pressure on him to turn against Brexit and even push for a referendum on the final deal. At last September’s Labour conference, Momentum played a key role in preventing delegates from voting on the party’s Brexit position. But this year, by contrast, several Momentum members said it could take the opposite role and force a vote among delegates on whether there should be a “people’s vote” on the final Brexit deal. So far Mr Corbyn has been firmly ambivalent on Brexit, broadly shadowing the government’s position while calling for more protections for workers and the environment. Labour’s leadership fears that any tilt towards being anti-Brexit could cost the party the support of working-class voters in Wales, the Midlands and the North. But the leadership of Momentum, while currently supporting Mr Corbyn’s position, is struggling to contain an upswell of anti-Brexit sentiment among its membership of largely younger, more urban, supporters. – FT (£) Donald Trump ‘told Macron France should quit the EU because they’d get a better trade deal with America’ Donald Trump told Emmanuel Macron France should follow Britain’s example and quit the EU, it was claimed today. The US President reportedly tried to convince the French President his country would be better off going it alone. And he even told Mr Macron France would get a huge trade deal with the US in exchange for leaving the EU, the Washington Post reported. Mr Trump’s bombshell offer came during a meeting at the White House in April, according to the newspaper… Asked if the report was true, Mr Macron today refused to deny it. He said only: “What was said in the room stays in that room.” – The Sun The Sun: We weep for Theresa May’s Brexit tactics — her ‘single Market for goods’ plan is a pitiful compromise The Government’s latest compromise is to agree to stay in the single market for goods. To which the EU’s Michel Barnier will inevitably reply: “No. It’s full single market membership, including free movement of migrants, or nothing.” Then what? What else has No10 got? There are red lines Theresa May must not cross: free movement, independent trade deals, our courts’ supremacy. She won’t survive conceding on any of them. We weep for Downing Street’s tactics. They seem terrified that the PM might have to walk out of talks. Why? If the EU continues to demand everything on its terms, she must do exactly that. They’ll call back. – The Sun says National Audit Office judges HMRC ‘set to be ready’ for No Deal – Guido Fawkes > Victoria Hewson on BrexitCentral last week: The ‘goods-only’ model of Single Market membership should be a non-starter Jeremy Good: Brexit on any terms won’t change our business We are a 95 per cent export manufacturer of high tech instrumentation, so we have a lot of experience in overseas trade. On May 24 the head of HM Revenue & Customs estimated that post-Brexit, import-export may cost industry £20bn extra at UK borders. With £10m of exports, 75 per cent outside the EU, and £1.5m of imports, 85% non-EU, we are in a good position to give a realistic figure for these costs… Our largest tax is the 20 per cent VAT charged on importing goods from the EU, just as from the US or Japan. This will not change after Brexit, although there may be a 3-5 per cent duty if no deal is done. The cost in additional paperwork will therefore be no more than 10 per cent of the present £32,000. We will incur an average 4 per cent duty on our £225,000 of EU imports, but will recover 95 per cent of this on exporting, so duties will cost the company about £500. Assuming we do business with the EU on terms no worse than the rest of the world, the cost will be around £3,700, or 0.04 per cent of our £10m turnover. Compared to currency exposure where rates can change by 1 per cent daily, this is a negligible figure, so Brexit on any terms will not change our business. – Jeremy Good letter to the FT (£) James Forsyth: PM Theresa May retreats to country bolthole Chequers to thrash out Brexit plan with Cabinet A week today, Britain should finally have a detailed answer to the question of what it wants this country’s relationship to be with the EU after Brexit… Cabinet Brexiteers, though, are already nervous about getting bounced — of being presented with a done deal they will have to either accept or resign over at a Chequers meeting… In an attempt to prevent any walkouts at Chequers, the Prime Minister will spend the next few days seeing senior ministers individually. “She’s peeling off people one by one,” I’m told… One of those co-ordinating the Brexiteer response tells me: “She’ll have to show her hand before Chequers. The idea of bouncing people with papers they haven’t seen is completely unrealistic as to where we are. It might have been possible six months ago, it is not possible now.” Brexiteers are worried about Downing Street’s direction of travel. One tells me: “They’re prepared to give away things, but they don’t understand what they are giving away.” The expectation is that the Government will essentially propose staying in the single market for goods. But what won’t be addressed is what this means for immigration. – James Forsyth for The Sun Heather Stewart: Chequers dinner could end in murder on the Brexit express Government insiders say May’s direction of travel is becoming increasingly clear – and it’s towards a softer Brexit. The question swirling at Westminster is how much further she can push the leavers in her cabinet in that direction, and whether some could choose to walk out rather than sign up… But single-market membership – even just for goods – would ride roughshod over the government’s red line on European court of justice oversight, and leave the UK as a “rule-taker” in key areas. It would also require the UK to make a very generous offer on migration. Such a package would stray perilously close to what the leavers call “BRINO” – Brexit in Name Only – and some could find it hard to reconcile with the reasons they backed leave in the first place… Brexiters are girding their loins for a fight. They feel they have already accepted a string of compromises, from the £40bn “divorce bill” to the transition period – and now potentially a “temporary customs arrangement” even after that, when the UK would continue applying the EU’s external tariff to imports. “If they try to go down the Norway route, and push it hard, she’s got a real problem,” said one senior government source. – Heather Stewart for the Guardian Charles Moore: Theresa May has only herself to blame for the ‘mad riddle’ Brexit has become Brexit, says Danny Dyer, is “like this mad riddle that no one knows what it is”. The fact that it seems this way shows how successfully the few are frustrating the wishes of the many… Since [the General Election], however, both the Government and the Parliament thus produced have abused the trust the voters gave them. The referendum was a straight question. It was clear what Brexit meant – taking back control over our own laws, our own trade and our own borders. It meant returning to self-government. The voters gave a straight answer. It is those in power who have managed to turn it into a mad riddle… I do not believe that Mrs May is a traitor to the Brexit she promises to implement. I do believe that she does not understand it. Brexit is like a child taken away from its parents (the voters). Mrs May is its reluctant though well-meaning foster mother, who tries her best but does not grasp its needs. For the Prime Minister, Brexit is more negotiable than existential. Negotiation is needed, but as a means, not an end. If you cannot get the core of what you really want, you have to walk away. Mrs May does not know what she really wants… [P]erhaps one can put two questions to all those in the Cabinet who helped win the fight to vote Leave. Can you accept what is happening? If so, explain. If not, what are you going to do about it? – Charles Moore for the Telegraph (£) Danny Dyer on Brexit and Cameron: ‘where is the geezer?’ – Steerpike Theresa May says Danny Dyer is ‘perfectly entitled to his views’ after he called David Cameron a ‘t***’ in Brexit rant – Daily Mail Danny Dyer is wrong about Brexit – Brendan O’Neill for the Spectator Why Danny Dyer has a point about David Cameron – Fraser Nelson for the Spectator Calls for Danny Dyer to become Prime Minister show how desperate voters have become – Tom Harris for the Telegraph (£) John Longworth: Multinationals don’t care about Britain – but are trying to dictate our future The recent behaviour of companies like Airbus and BMW (albeit the latter appears to have backtracked on the threatened relocation of factories) is a stark example, particularly since their rationale has been one sided and disingenuous, in fact, irrational. Take the Airbus case first of all. They claimed that they may relocate in the event of a “hard” (no such thing) World Trade Organisation global trade Brexit, possibly relocating to China or the Far East or somewhere in EU. As many of these locations are outside EU, what is the logic unless they wanted an excuse to do it anyway? It certainly can have nothing to do with Brexit. Furthermore, given that they would find it difficult to find the advanced technology skills to make wings elsewhere, as the expertise is in the UK, the threat appears to be a paper tiger – Project Fear 2.0. – John Longworth for the Express Telegraph: Time is running out for Britain and the EU Why assume that Britain cannot win? Right now, Europe looks weak and divided. This week’s summit in Brussels was dominated by migration, which tests the very viability of the EU project… Brussels’ concerns about market arrangements reflect the mood among European businesses, which fear that a no-deal scenario, yes, will create chaos for all in the short term but will also in the long term trigger a spree of deregulation and tax cutting in Britain that gives the UK a clear advantage… The Cabinet meeting on Friday needs to thrash out a list of demands that meet the expectations of Leave voters during the referendum (controlled immigration, full return of sovereignty, out of the Single Market etc) and which gives the Prime Minister a strong hand to play in Brussels. Once the position is agreed, the UK Government should stick to it. For too long, the EU has been allowed to set terms and Britain has, with the very best will in the world, made the generous moves on matters such as citizenship and defence. Our trump card is the strength of Britain’s economy, as demonstrated by a £20 billion deal to build ships for the Australians. Our future lies far beyond the protectionist anachronism of the EU. The EU knows it and is terrified. – Telegraph editorial (£) Comment in brief There is no point in stopping Brexit unless we also join the Euro – John Stevens for ConservativeHome No deal is still better than a bad deal with the EU – Ross Clark for the Express The Government seems set on delivering a form of Brexit nobody wants – Telegraph letter (£) Britain is full of powerful mid-sized cities. Let’s unlock their potential – Peter Box for the Guardian Guess who helped the rise of Europe’s mini-Trumps? Brexit-poisoned Britain – Guy Verhofstadt MEP for the Guardian Remainers continue abject lies on trade – Robert Bates for Get Britain Out World Cup fans’ cheers for a life outside the EU – Chris Roycott-Davis for the Express News in brief Soubry accuses Association chairman of plot to oust her and reports him to CCHQ – Guido Fawkes Anna Soubry accuses Tory constituency chair of plotting to get rid of her with false claims of Brexit clashes – Independent Now meddlers from the UN want to probe austerity policies after claiming Brexit made the UK more racist – Daily Mail Franco-Dutch company set to produce British passports hamstrung by delays and legal challenges in Norway and Sweden – Telegraph (£) Surge in Britons getting EU nationality – BBC News It’s tragic’ – Arch-Remainer Janet Street-Porter rejects call for second Brexit referendum – Express