Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Dominic Raab tells the EU to drop the backstop or the UK will not extend Brexit transition period… The UK must not agree to extend the Brexit transition period unless the EU ditches its demand for a backstop, the Brexit Secretary suggests today. Writing in The Telegraph, Dominic Raab said an option floated by Theresa May of the UK remaining tied to the EU beyond December 2020 would only be an “alternative” to the insurance plan insisted on by Brussels.His intervention will be welcomed by pro-Brexit MPs, who reacted with fury to the Prime Minister’s suggestion that the Government could offer to extend the transition period “by a few months” as well as agreeing to a backstop.Brussels has insisted a fallback mechanism is necessary to protect Northern Ireland from a hard border if negotiations for the future relationship with the EU break down. The suggestion it could be ditched entirely is likely to infuriate EU negotiators. – Telegraph (£) Don’t doubt our resolve to defend the Union and secure a real Brexit – Dominic Raab MP for the Telegraph (£) …as David Davis calls for a change in negotiating tactics to a more uncompromising approach… David Davis today steals a march on Tory leadership rival Boris Johnson by setting out what will be seen as his manifesto for Downing Street – including adopting a much more militant attitude towards Brussels. With both former Cabinet Ministers on high alert this weekend for the sudden triggering of a no-confidence vote in Theresa May, the former Brexit Secretary uses a trenchant article in today’s Mail on Sunday – below – to slam the Prime Minister for proposing to extend the transition period for withdrawing from the EU by a year. Arguing that Mrs May has ‘managed to anger not just Leavers but ardent Remainers as well’, Mr Davis calls for a change in tactics to a more uncompromising approach. – Mail on Sunday …and Boris Johnson claims the Government is planning a Brexit “stitch up” Boris Johnson has warned Tory MPs that the government is planning a Brexit “stitch up” amid revelations that ministers will stop Brexiteer rebels from forcing a “no deal” with the EU. Tensions in the Conservative Party were mounting this weekend as sources close to the Prime Minister vowed to “fight Brexiteer rebels to the death” if they try to trigger a vote of no confidence in Mrs May. The fears that Mrs May is now planning to sell-out Brexit were heightened after the Sunday Express was told that her chief of staff Gavin Barwell is set to meet Remainer Tory MPs who are pushing for a second referendum to undo Brexit. Mr Barwell’s meeting diaried for Wednesday is set to include former cabinet minister Justine Greening and others who are involved in the so-called People’s Vote campaign. The growing fears over the outcome of the negotiations led Mr Johnson earlier this week to tell fellow Brexiteers in Parliament that there will be “a stitch up” as he urged them to prepare to “resist” a deal that leaves Britain as a “colony of the EU.” But a senior Government source has indicated that there are already moves to ensure a “no deal” with the EU is the least likely option after a week where Mrs May has already mooted extending the transition period before leaving the EU. – Express Theresa May is urged to confront disgruntled backbenchers at a crisis meeting… Theresa May will this week face a last-ditch fight to save her leadership as rebel Tory MPs demand she attend a high-stakes ‘show trial’.The Prime Minister has been urged to confront disgruntled backbenchers at a crisis meeting – but was given the chilling warning that she should ‘bring her own noose’ to the showdown as rivals step up their campaigns to succeed her in No 10.Rank-and-file MPs last night told Mrs May that she was in the ‘last chance saloon’ and called on her to face them at their 1922 Committee meeting on Wednesday. And they threatened that if she didn’t put in an ‘uncharacteristically powerful, persuasive and coherent’ performance, she could face a vote of no confidence within days. – Mail on Sunday Tories tell May she has 72 hours to save her job – Sunday Times (£) …as Dominic Grieve tells the PM she’s ‘heading for dead end’ in Brexit talks A former cabinet minister has said Theresa May is heading for a “dead end” in the Brexit talks, which can only be solved by a fresh referendum. Dominic Grieve, an ex-attorney general, said the prime minister’s deal “looks pretty second rate” and the Brexit being delivered is something “very few people want”…Mr Grieve told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “If we don’t do this now then we will lose the opportunity and once we are out of the EU on March 29, going back in is a completely different thing to deciding to stay in.“My view has grown over the last few months that in fact we are reaching a dead end and that there may be some sort of deal on offer but one that i have to say looks to me pretty second rate. – Independent Whitehall has reportedly been ‘war-gaming’ a second referendum… Civil servants have started secret contingency planning for a second referendum, it can be revealed. Within the past fortnight they have responded to fears that Theresa May will struggle to get a Brexit deal through parliament and have been “war-gaming” a new vote. Officials working for the Department for Exiting the European Union role-played the probable response to a fresh referendum by the prime minister and David Lidington, her de facto deputy. They also gamed the reactions of campaigners.The Brexiteer MPs Boris Johnson and Jacob Rees-Mogg were among the roles played, along with James McGrory, director of the People’s Vote, the march through London yesterday. The organisers claimed it was attended by 670,000 people.“Civil servants have to prepare for every eventuality and with the prime minister’s ability to command the support of parliament looking shakier by the day, it is their job to make contingency plans for every possibility, however remote, including a second referendum,” a source said. – Sunday Times (£) …as thousands march to Parliament demanding one Hundreds of thousands of anti-Brexit campaigners have joined a central London protest calling for a fresh referendum. Organisers claim more than 600,000 protesters descended on the capital on Saturday. Some 100,000 were initially expected to attend the march, which set off led by young voters and Mayor of London Sadiq Khan at around 1pm.The People’s Vote march set off from Park Lane before ending in a rally in Parliament Square.Celebrity cook Delia Smith, Dragons’ Den businesswoman Deborah Meaden and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were among the speakers at the event, which is being compered by broadcasters Richard Bacon and Mariella Frostrup.The People’s Vote campaign said its stewards estimated the size of the crowd to be around 670,000. – Evening Standard > On BrexitCentral: Chris Bradford: We already had a “People’s Vote” and the people voted to Leave the EU John Penrose MP: Anyone who genuinely values democracy should stay away from the “People’s Vote” march Benjamin Mercer: The People’s Vote campaign is a betrayal of democracy – and the Left Nigel Farage calls for a swift Brexit at a counter-rally in Harrogate Brexit supporters have reiterated their “Leave Means Leave” message at a counter-rally to the “People’s Vote” march in central London. Supporters of leaving the EU were addressed by Nigel Farage, and MPs Kate Hoey and Nigel Owen Paterson in a rally that pledged to “rescue Brexit” and express “support for the Brexit Britain voted for”. The event, run by Leave Means Leave and thought to be attended by around 1,200 people in Harrogate, has branded the campaign for a second referendum a “losers’ vote”.It was infiltrated by a number of Remain supporters, however, who were booed out of the auditorium. Mr Farage told Sky News he believed that, in a second referendum, “the damage to trust and faith in our entire democratic system would be enormous”.”I’m quite happy to have another referendum in 20 years or so, when we work out exactly what shape’s Europe’s going to be and how happy we are as an independent nation,” he said. – Sky News Jacob Rees-Mogg warns the PM to prepare a financial strategy for a no-deal Brexit or risk a repeat of Black Wednesday in 1992 Jacob Reese-Mogg has warned Theresa May to prepare a financial strategy for a no-deal Brexit or risk a repeat of Black Wednesday in 1992, which lead to the Conservative Party’s defeat after the UK’s economy ended up in tatters. Mr Rees-Mogg, MP for North East Somerset, insisted Mrs May must prepare Britain for a possible financial crash if the UK leaves the EU with no agreement, or risk losing public confidence in her government. Writing for the Daily Telegraph, he warned how post-Brexit Britain could slump into a downward spiral, recalling how Black Wednesday left UK’s financial markets in utter turmoil. In 1992, then-Prime Minister Sir John Major was forced to withdraw the pound from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, after the currency failed to stay within its agreed limit. This cost the UK’s economy an estimated £3.3 billion pounds in losses, sending support for Mr Major’s Government and the Conservative Party to an all-time low. – Express Scottish Tory MPs vow to vote down any deal that delays our departure from the Common Fisheries Policy Scottish Conservative MPs have joined forces to make a defiant stand on behalf of British fisheries by insisting that control of UK waters cannot be delayed any further.The 13 Scottish Tories in Westminster have threatened to torpedo any Brexit deal that Prime Minister Theresa May secures if it betrays the fishing communities. Following her meeting with EU leaders this week, Mrs May has said the Brexit transition period could be extended “for a few months” if needed. However, Scottish Secretary David Mundell has raised concerns over how this extension could impact Britain’s departure from the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).Fellow Scottish Tory David Duguid has warned Mrs May against delaying Britain’s departure from the EU fishing agreement beyond the agreed date of December 2020. Speaking to Channel 4 News, the MP claimed that any delay would force the united group of 13 Scottish Tories to vote down the Brexit deal.Mr Duguid said: “Right now, we are hoping to be sitting at the negotiation table as an independent coastal state in December 2020.”I couldn’t vote for withdrawal agreement that doesn’t advance interests of Scottish fishermen. – Express CBI says businesses ‘will hit the red button’ on Brexit contingency plans by Christmas Companies will hit the red button on Brexit contingency plans by Christmas if there is not a clear outcome from negotiations, according to research by the Confederation of British Industry. More than two thirds of large and smaller firms said they will implement Brexit contingency plans by December, while a fifth said that the deadline for triggering their emergency efforts had already passed. Carolyn Fairbairn, director-general of the CBI, said that “the speed of negotiations is being outpaced by the reality firms are facing on the ground”. “Jobs will be lost and supply chains moved,” Ms Fairbairn said, if there was not a withdrawal agreement in place by December. – Telegraph (£) Spain will not veto Brexit deal over GIbraltar Spain has hinted it will not veto any final Brexit deal following negotiations between Madrid and London over Gibraltar this weekend, with Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez accused of “wasting” the country’s powers to veto the UK’s exit from the EU.British overseas territory Gibraltar has long been a source of contention with Spain repeatedly contesting the sovereignty of The Rock. Spain achieved a major victory in March 2017 by getting the negotiating guidelines of the European Council to express the need for a London-Madrid bilateral agreement for the 27 to approve and move forward with the UK’s exit from the Union. The EU gave Spain powers to block the Brexit withdrawal agreement.But in a major breakthrough Spain has dropped a key demand over Gibraltar and suggested Madrid will not veto a final Brexit deal. – Express /*COMMENT*/ Dominic Raab: Don’t doubt our resolve to defend the Union and secure a real Brexit It is natural that our EU partners feel as frustrated as we do with this whole process. After all, it was the UK that voted to leave. And yet through their response, Brexit will define the EU at a critical juncture in its history. Seeking to lock the UK into an indefinite customs union is simply unacceptable. Proposals to carve up the economic regime that binds the UK are doubly irresponsible given separatist pressures on the continent – and are hardly a compelling advert for a political club that stands for European unity. History will not look kindly on the EU if it precipitates no deal on these grounds. Now is the time to look forward, not back. For all that Brexit has strained our relationship, the UK and EU still share the same values and face common challenges. The world is watching. It expects both sides to rise to this moment in our history. For our part, the UK will continue to negotiate in good faith to get this deal over the line. We have extended the arm of friendship. But no one should be in any doubt about our resolve to leave, or our willingness to defend the Union. – Dominic Raab MP for the Telegraph (£) The Sun says: Those who want a ‘people’s vote’ have every right to protest but we also have every right to ignore them The Second Referendum crowd have every right to march through London calling for another Brexit vote. And the Government is right to totally ignore them.We have had a “people’s vote”. It was in June 2016 and 17.4million people voted to leave the EU. That puts the few hundred thousand on yesterday’s march in perspective, doesn’t it? Just because those voters didn’t get dressed up for an afternoon stroll doesn’t make their democratic input any less significant. The Remain propaganda leaflet sent to every household before the Referendum — at the cost of millions of pounds to the taxpayer — laid out what that vote meant: “The Government will implement what you decide.” It’s beyond us why anybody would want to jump back into bed with the EU. They’ve exposed themselves as devious ideologues whose only interest is sticking the boot into Britain for wanting to go it alone, like a bitter ex who refuses to hand back a sweatshirt. This week, the US confirmed they’ll start trade talks as soon as we leave. The rest of the world will soon follow. It’s time to look forward, not back. This country has an exciting future ahead. – The Sun says Adam Boulton: The PM wins a Brexit extension but everyone in Britain just wants an explosion May hopes the threat of an early general election will concentrate Tory minds. She has more scope to bring one about than complacent Tories assume. But cheerfully contemplating the likelihood of being “thrashed” by Corbyn’s Labour in any election, one influential centrist former minister still told me he was minded to vote against any conceivable deal she brings home. Disillusionment and defeatism among her supporters could prove as deadly as the opposition from hard Brexiteers. Every glimmer of hope for May risks being extinguished. The EU is ready to concede that all of the UK, rather than only Northern Ireland, could be covered in any backstop. That might placate the Democratic Unionist Party and negate any early defeat over the budget. But such a backstop, which both sides hope would never be needed, still implies that the UK could stay in customs alignment with the EU for longer, a red rag to the Brexiteers. – Adam Boulton for the Sunday Times (£) Peter Lilley: For the statistical duplicity in the Chequers Brexit plan, heads should roll No country would enter a free trade deal with us on this basis. The FCA makes a mockery of us having an independent trade and regulatory policy. Had ministers known this, Chequers probably wouldn’t be Government policy. The Treasury reduced their figure by including imports from the EU, for which the scheme is irrelevant, and – irrelevant to the point of absurdity – all UK exports both to the EU and the rest of the world. For this statistical duplicity, heads should roll. We cannot tolerate our Brexit deal being negotiated on the basis of such grotesquely misleading figures. – Lord Lilley for the Telegraph (£) > Lord Lilley on BrexitCentral earlier in the month: The deceit at the heart of Chequers Janet Daley: Our elites have always believed Brexit could be stopped. I’m starting to think they’re right For months after the Leave victory in the referendum, I was being accosted – no, I should say graciously approached – by members of the business and banking community who would make helpful suggestions as to what I might write on the subject. Their advice was invariably the same: this is never going to happen.They would assure me, with sublime confidence, that whatever was being said by the politicians and the official negotiators, the UK was not going to leave the European Union – not in any meaningful sense, at any rate. They did not put it quite like this, of course, but what they implied was that the forces that held power over matters of economic life and death would see to it that the absolute severance of Britain from the EU which the population believed it had voted for would be effectively prevented. Back then, I didn’t believe them. I do now. – Janet Daley for the Telegraph (£) Sunday Times: The people have spoken: May needs to march on to Brexit The People’s Vote campaign has the wind in its sails. Yesterday’s demonstration in London, claimed to be more than half a million strong, was the largest so far. The numbers will fuel demands that voters must be given the final say on any deal — and raise the hopes of some remainers that Brexit can still be prevented. Yet these hardliners are in denial. Outside the capital there is little appetite for a rerun of the last “people’s vote” held only two years ago. Rather than revisiting old arguments, most people want the government to get on with it. Those who still refuse to accept that Brexit is happening and invoke “the people” imply that the majority who voted to leave the EU were not their kind of people. Even many who voted “remain” now accept that the referendum should be honoured. We report today that Whitehall mandarins have conducted a “war- gaming exercise” holding a second referendum and concluded that it would require a year to prepare. To plunge the UK into such a divisive vote, creating new uncertainties in the midst of the Brexit process, would be perilous. – Editorial in the Sunday Times (£) Iain Duncan Smith: We need the backbone of Thatcher to deal with these European bully boys In 2016, 17.4 million British voters called on us to take back control of our laws, borders, money and trade from the EU and to transform our country into a self-governing, free-trading nation, once again. Yet since then we have failed to achieve the full Brexit we voted for. This is because we have conducted the negotiation as though we were engaged in a slow capitulation. We have failed to stand up to Barnier and his negotiators and at every twist and turn we have offered more concessions.First, they demanded we negotiate and sign a “withdrawal agreement”, setting out the terms under which we leave the EU on March 29, 2019, before we discuss the trading relationship we want after Brexit. At first we said we wouldn’t accept such a demand, this was because the Conservative Manifesto during the last General Election promised that the withdrawal agreement and our future trading relationship with the EU would be discussed at the same time. This was for a good reason, most of what the EU wants from us are in the withdrawal agreement and without them we would have little leverage to negotiate a trade deal, something even a child in the playground would understand. – Iain Duncan Smith MP for the Sun Madeline Grant: Is there really an appetite for a People’s Vote? How seriously should we take the oft-made claim that a majority of people now favour a second referendum? As ever, the devil is in the detail. Recent polling evidence suggests that widespread public pessimism about the direction of Brexit isn’t necessarily translating into hunger for a second referendum; certainly not enough to prove electorally decisive. Last month, Alastair Campbell endured a brutal, ‘on air’, fact-check of his proposition that there has been a significant shift in support for a referendum re-run. During the show, the BBC Politics number-crunchers earmarked Professor John Curtice, the ‘gold-standard’ pollster and practically the only member of his profession to have emerged from recent electoral history without a generous splattering of egg on his face. – Madeline Grant for the Article Simon Heffer: Write your letters of no confidence now, MPs. There is an alternative to the hopeless Theresa May This is Theresa May’s Oliver Cromwell moment. Not because, with a ferocity of zeal and commitment, she is about to take us out of the European Union, and invite it to do its worst; but because her party must say to her, as the Lord Protector did to the Rump Parliament: “You have sat too long here for any good you have been doing. In the name of God, go.” The patience of that party seems exhausted. She has surrendered the conduct of the Brexit negotiations to a civil service determined to thwart our departure from the EU, egged on to defy the public’s will by such titans of the democratic process as Lord Adonis and Sir Mark Sedwill, the acting, and depressingly over-mighty, Cabinet Secretary. The public have seen her fumbling in television interviews, unable to master her tortuous brief – a brief that, with its talk of indeterminate transition periods, mocks her earlier assertion that “Brexit means Brexit”…Some of us remember 1995, when John Major, who was manifestly leading the Tories to an epic defeat and years in opposition, received a vote of confidence from his deluded party. Learn from that mistake: write your letters to Sir Graham, ladies and gentlemen. The absurdities of the last few days are becoming an insult to a country that has made its wishes clear. It is the job of Tory MPs, in particular, to ensure the bargain with the people is kept. As Oliver would have said, this cannot go on. – Simon Heffer for the Telegraph (£) News in Brief Minister wants devolved Scottish fishing quotas post-Brexit – STV Brexit extension period could be send fishing industry into ‘meltdown’ – The National The thing about Jeremy Corbyn is that he really is a Eurosceptic – The Independent