Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team EU Withdrawal Bill approved by Parliament with May vowing “smooth and orderly” exit… Theresa May has welcomed the passing of the Brexit bill through Parliament as “a crucial step” in delivering a “smooth and orderly Brexit”. Peers accepted the amendment to the EU (Withdrawal) Bill sent to them from the House of Commons, meaning the bill now goes for Royal Assent, becoming law. The vote passed 319 to 303 after would-be Tory rebels were given assurances they would have a meaningful say… Both sides have claimed victory with Stephen Hammond, a pro-EU MP who eventually sided with the government, suggesting ministers had agreed to give Parliament a “real say” on top of other concessions. International trade secretary Liam Fox said nothing had really changed and the option of a no-deal Brexit had been left firmly on the table. – BBC News > WATCH: Liam Fox responds to the Commons approving the EU Withdrawal Bill > WATCH: House of Lords concedes defeat on EU Withdrawal Bill amendments …after Tory rebel Dominic Grieve backed down on his own ‘meaningful vote’ following Government assurances Up to a dozen Tory rebels were threatening to join Labour in an attempt to enshrine into law parliament’s right to have a decisive say on a no-deal Brexit. In chaotic scenes minutes before the vote was due to be called, Dominic Grieve, the de facto leader of the rebels, stood up in the Commons to announce that he would no longer be supporting his amendment. Mr Grieve’s decision ensured that the government won the vote by a majority of 16. Six Tory MPs still voted with the opposition while four Labour Brexiteers backed the government. The Times understands that Mr Grieve’s change of heart came after rebels received legal advice from the Commons authorities and further reassurance from the government. The advice effectively made clear that MPs would be able to trigger a vote calling for a delay to Britain leaving the EU in the case of no deal having been reached. – The Times (£) Tory rebellion off as Dominic Grieve accepts Government’s last minute compromise on a ‘meaningful vote’ – Telegraph (£) PM Theresa May survives Brexit vote with pledge to rebels – The Sun ‘Historic day’ for Brexit as MPs defeat Grieve’s amendment and Lords finally approve bill – Express UK government sees off Brexit rebellion – Politico Brexit ‘meaningful vote’: May wins after rebels accept compromise – Guardian Theresa May snuffs out rebellion to win Brexit vote – FT (£) Who really backed down over Brexit vote? – Laura Kuenssberg for BBC News Theresa May swerves to avoid Brexit crunch – Charlie Cooper for Politico Both sides in Brexit clash have emerged winners — and losers – Henry Zeffman for The Times (£) What May should do next. Replace Robbins with Davis – and prepare for No Deal – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Zombie Government is still on life support…but we need a new Prime Minister – Trevor Kavanagh for The Sun The Brexit vote was an arcane victory – Telegraph editorial (£) After all that fuss from Dominic Grieve, the big bad Brexit rebel has bottled it – Michael Deacon for the Telegraph (£) A bad day for Grieve, the rebel Tory who forgot how to rebel – John Crace for the Guardian > READ: How every MP voted in the final Commons vote on the EU Withdrawal Bill yesterday > WATCH: David Davis on the long legislative process leading to yesterday’s historic vote > WATCH: Dominic Grieve backs down over ‘meaningful vote’ May risks row with Brexiters over plan for single market for goods Theresa May could once again be on a collision course with the Brexiter wing of her party over a controversial proposal to keep the UK in a single market for goods. Whitehall sources said they believed free movement of goods was “100% the direction of travel” as the prime minister’s focus shifts to the next battle over Britain’s future relationship with the EU after next week’s Brussels summit. Downing Street remained tight-lipped, reiterating that the UK would be leaving the single market in its entirety. However, cabinet sources suggested the issue could be on the agenda at the Brexit “war cabinet” awayday at Chequers in early July… One cabinet source said: “If you look at how all the negotiations with Brussels have been structured it looks like the whole process has been geared towards this endgame. But the big kicker for Brexiters will be freedom of movement. What No 10 is banking on is that the EU will let them fudge this and give them some sort of flexibility. They’ll come up with clever wording but it will basically be freedom of movement by another name. There’s no way Brussels is going to allow us an opt-out.” A Whitehall official added: “It is the logical extension of the prime minister’s Mansion House speech that there would be a relatively high degree of alignment.” – Guardian May considers asking to stay in single market for goods – Guido Fawkes Single market in goods will come at a price for Brexit Britain – Charles Grant for the FT (£) Home Secretary Sajid Javid hits out at EU over lack of plans for UK expats The home secretary has accused the EU of failing to match the UK’s progress on plans for expats after Brexit. Sajid Javid, who will reveal more details on the UK scheme for EU citizens later, said more information was needed from EU member states… Mr Javid said: “Publishing details of how we will administer our settled status scheme shows we are honouring the commitments made towards EU citizens living in the UK. But I am concerned that I have not seen any similar plans on how EU member states are going to support British nationals in their countries. This is not good enough and I hope both the European Parliament and commission will exert more pressure for them to do this as soon as possible.” – BBC News Javid: EU neglecting rights of Brit expats – Sky News Speed up plans for British expats in EU, urges Sajid Javid – The Times (£) UK urges EU to publish plans for Britons living in Europe post-Brexit – Guardian EU nationals will have to register and pay fee to remain in the country after Brexit – The Sun EU may require visas for British travelers post Brexit – Politico …as Guy Verhofstadt reportedly admits EU has not done enough after meeting Javid Analysis published last year found that around 900,000 UK citizens were living in other EU countries. The Home Secretary has made a point of raising progress on arrangements for British expats in his early dealings with Brussels. Last month, in a letter to Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit Coordinator, Mr Javid said it was “unclear” what systems member states are creating to ensure the rights of UK citizens in their countries are protected after the end of the implementation period in December 2020. The pair met earlier this week and, according to the Home Office, Mr Verhofstadt acknowledged that the EU’s 27 member states had not done enough to set out what the procedures will be for expat Britons living across the EU. – Telegraph Brexit is a sign of EU ‘failure’, admits Verhofstadt… Brexit is a “failure” of the European Union and has “opened its eyes to reform”, one of Brussels’s top politicians has admitted. Guy Verhofstadt, the European Parliament’s Brexit coordinator, said Britain’s decision to quit the bloc made it “difficult” to call the project a “success”. “I still look to the Brexit decision as a failure of the EU,” he told an influential committee of MPs in Westminster on Wednesday. “Because if an important country like the UK is breaking away from the EU it’s difficult to say, ‘Oh it’s a success, fantastic.’ I don’t look at the outcome of the referendum in that way – I think it’s a failure.” – Sky News …as he dismisses the idea that the Irish border ‘backstop’ can be time-limited Theresa May’s proposal for a temporary customs “backstop” to prevent a hard border in Northern Ireland is “not acceptable” to the European Union and cannot be time-limited, Guy Verhofstadt has warned. The European Parliament’s chief Brexit co-ordinator has dismissed claims that any continued alignment with the European Union – in the event that a solution cannot be reached – will end in 2021… He suggested that in the event that the backstop is implemented, it would be a “permanent system” that would only be altered over time and when a suitable alternative had been agreed between the two parties… Mr Verhofstadt said that ending the backstop in 2021 would mean customs authorities would have to apply three different systems in three years, which was something to “avoid absolutely”. He was equally dismissive of a potential ‘customs partnership, which is believed to be Mrs May’s prefered solution and would see the UK collect tariffs on EU goods for the bloc after Britain leaves. – Telegraph EU’s Guy Verhofstadt tells Theresa May to ‘speed up’ talks or Britain will not get a trade deal by the end of 2020 – The Sun Guy Verhofstadt warns MPs of ‘two decade’ Brexit ratification – BBC News UK time ‘running out for Brexit deal’ due to ‘unsolved’ Irish border problem – The Sun Brexit is all fun and games for Guy Verhofstadt – Emily Commander for The Times (£) > WATCH: Guy Verhofstadt to Rees-Mogg: EU would insist on a hard border GCHQ chief rebukes Barnier with EU terror plots reminder The director of GCHQ has revealed that Britain’s surveillance agency thwarted four terrorist attacks in European countries in the last year, after Michel Barnier insisted that the UK must lose access to the bloc’s counter-terror intelligence databases after Brexit. Jeremy Fleming’s comments were made on a visit to Nato headquarters in Brussels and will be interpreted as a veiled rebuke to Mr Barnier, who is the European Union’s chief Brexit negotiator. Mr Fleming’s rare intervention stressed that EU countries, many of whom are Nato members, could benefit from Britain’s classified intelligence and its ability to counter cyber attacks from countries such as Russia with measures of its own. He said, “We’ve played a critical role in the disruption of terrorist operations in at least four European countries. Those relationships, and our ability to work together, save lives. That will continue after Brexit, for the benefit of the UK and for Europe.” – Telegraph More lone wolf terror attacks ‘very likely’, warns Europol crime agency – Telegraph Britain’s spies protect the whole of Europe – Michel Barnier would be crazy to alienate us as an ally – Nick Timothy for the Telegraph (£) On defence, the EU is shooting everyone in the foot – Get Britain Out’s Stephen Mitchell for CapX Philip Hammond to unveil global partnership push for finance industry post-Brexit Philip Hammond is to unveil a new strategy for the City of London that will focus on forming deals with countries beyond Europe post-Brexit. The Chancellor will use his annual Mansion House speech to tell City leaders that the doors to Britain’s finance industry will be left open after Brexit as he pursues “ground-breaking” financial partnerships with governments around the world. Mr Hammond will outline plans to strike bespoke deals with other countries under a new “Global Financial Partnerships” scheme so that London doesn’t lose its reputation as a gateway to financial markets… A person close to the initiative said that the partnerships will not be a “one size fits all” approach and might only involve corners of the finance industry, such as insurance or fund management. – Telegraph Chancellor’s Mansion House speech: City to strike new partnerships with global financial hubs – City A.M. Chancellor to promise a series of post-Brexit financial partnerships – Guardian Philip Hammond set to unveil plans to make Brexit Britain the ‘undisputed’ centre of global commerce – The Sun EU calls crisis summit over migration as it desperately tries to save Merkel’s leadership Jean-Claude Juncker has called an emergency mini-summit in a desperate bid to resolve damaging EU divisions over migration and prop up Angela Merkel’s ailing government ahead of next week’s European Council meeting of EU leaders. Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Greece and Bulgaria are all expected to be represented at what European Commission President Mr Juncker is referring to as an “informal working meeting”. Mr Juncker will hope to keep proposed reforms to rules governing EU asylum and migration going, and will doubtless use Sunday’s gathering to stress the importance of implementing his ideas. Meanwhile Mrs Merkel desperately needs all the help she can get as bids to dissuade partners the Christian Social Union (CSU) from pulling out of the coalition with her Christian Democratic Union (CDU). – Express Is there life after Merkel for German conservatives? – Leopold Traugott for the Spectator Senior EU diplomat exposed as rabid Twitter troll A senior British diplomat working for the EU has been exposed as a rabid pro-EU Twitter troll who says he wants Britain to “fail hard”. Chris Kendall, who admits Brexit has taken over his life, spends large amounts of his time trolling Leave voters online, despite working full time for the EU External Action Service, the EU’s equivalent of the Foreign Office. The mandarin also co-hosts an anti-Brexit podcast and despite claiming to be operating in a personal capacity, spreads pro-EU propaganda throughout the working day under the Twitter handle @ottocrat. It is possible that the senior diplomat could fall foul of his employer, as it is unclear whether his constant barrage of abuse directed at Leave voters is part of his official duties. In a professional capacity, he coordinates the monthly foreign policy meetings of European Commissioners, but privately tweeted “do not expect us to roll over and accept it” if Britain regained its independence. – BrexitCentral City firms row over “patronising and passive-aggressive” Brexit demands to PM A letter from top lawyers and accountants to Theresa May has been dropped over its “patronising” demands, Sky News learns. A powerful panel of business leaders representing some of Britain’s biggest employers is embroiled in a row over assurances they are demanding from Theresa May about the terms of the UK’s departure from the EU. Sky News has obtained a letter to the Prime Minister drafted this week by the Professional and Business Services Council (PBSC), the members of which include top executives from firms such as Arup, the engineering consultancy; Clifford Chance, the ‘magic circle’ law firm; Deloitte, the big four auditor; and McKinsey, the management consultants… Sources said that some members of the PBSC had expressed disquiet over the tone and content of the letter, and had sought in recent days to prevent it being sent to Mrs May. One insider said the letter would not now be released in its current form, and that the PBSC’s position would be reviewed in the wake of the European Council meeting later this month. – Sky News Genetically edited pigs could be bred after Brexit to help stop costly disease Pigs genetically edited to resist one of the world’s most costly animal diseases could be bred after Brexit to save British farmers £50 million a year. Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, has already signalled that genetically modified animals could be sold after Britain leaves the European Union. And now scientists at the University of Edinburgh have succeeded in creating pigs which are completely resistant to Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome, or PRRS, a lethal virus which costs farmers millions each year… Currently genetically modified animals are banned from the food chain in Europe. But previously government scientific advisors have said they are committed to GM and are keen to move away from strict European laws banning genetic modification in crops and animals. – Telegraph Disease-free pigs in the middle of gene editing row – The Times (£) Scottish farmer subsidies unchanged until 2024 under Brexit ‘stability’ plan Scotland’s system of farmer subsidies will not be overhauled until 2024, under plans for an extended Brexit “transition period” unveiled by the Rural Economy Minister. Fergus Ewing told MSPs that a transition period of between three and five years after the UK leaves the EU next March would provide “stability, certainty and simplicity” for farmers and crofters… But Holyrood’s opposition parties said farmers in Scotland were the last in the UK to receive any detail on their subsidy payments following Brexit and criticised the lack of a long-term vision. – Telegraph (£) Online memes ‘at risk’ from EU copyright law An EU committee has approved copyright laws to ban memes, altering the internet as we know it, campaigners claim. The changes supported by the legal affairs committee include demands that platforms “take measures” to enforce the rights of copyright owners. The European Parliament will vote on the measures. Lawyers claim that the reforms could be implemented in Britain, regardless of Brexit… The Save Your Internet campaign says that if the law goes ahead, automated filters on sites such as Reddit and Facebook would block many activities, such as sharing memes or videos of friends doing karaoke. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the world wide web’s creator, and Jimmy Wales, Wikipedia’s founder, have signed an open letter to Antonio Tajani, the European Parliament president, opposing the measures. – The Times (£) Paul Goodman: What May should do next. Replace Robbins with Davis – and prepare for No Deal Having a civil servant negotiating with a politician doesn’t work. It is no coincidence that May’s grip on the Brexit talks, on managing Parliament and on decision-making, has weakened since Olly Robbins left DexEU and went to Downing Street, becoming in effect the Government’s lead negotiator. It is unfair to civil servants to expect them to have the political feel of senior ministers. The Prime Minister appointed Davis and must let him get on with it – and take back control, if you like… [M]any Brexiteers will put up with the bird in the hand of a messy Brexit now for the two-in-a-bush of a cleaner one – accepting that Brexit is itself journey to a new future, and that final destinations aren’t reached on day one. However, what the overwhelming majority won’t accept, in the Commons or outside it, is a bad deal – whereby the Government commits to handing over £40 billion in return for vague promises of goodwill. That’s another reason, were one needed, for getting Ready for Day One, not getting Ready for Day 730. – Paul Goodman for ConservativeHome Iain Martin: Brussels is relishing this rolling Brexit chaos We should prepare for a hard Brexit, and not as a pose to satisfy the damaged amour propre of Brexiteers embarrassed that departure has turned out to be messy. No, we should prepare for a hard Brexit because the chances of it happening by a series of interconnected accidents are rising steadily with every month that passes. Even if there is a breakthrough, a deal must be passed by every parliament in the EU27 early next year. The window in which this must be done, after the failure to get to an outline deal this summer, is now far too narrow for comfort. In large part this is the British government’s fault. Too little progress has been made and the UK has still not agreed its positions on basic aspects of Brexit. The prime minister cannot take decisions, and the cabinet and both major parties in the Commons are split. Observing this farce, and loving the incursions of Remainer peers in particular, the European Commission and its negotiating team have drawn the obvious conclusion: that they can harden their stance. The commission’s bad faith behaviour has become so appalling that even some Remainers have now woken up to the implications. Professor Steve Peers, a Remainer and an authority on European law, complained this week that in its latest papers on security arrangements the EU was trying to insert the European Court of Justice where it should not be. The commission sees an opportunity now to bind the UK closer than ever. – Iain Martin for The Times (£) Nick Timothy: Britain’s spies protect the whole of Europe – Michel Barnier would be crazy to alienate us as an ally The news that GCHQ has disrupted terrorist operations in four European countries in the last year should not be a surprise. Britain has the best intelligence agencies in Europe, and when I worked in government – in the Home Office and in Number Ten – our agencies played a vital role in arresting terrorists and disrupting plots across the continent. So what is Michel Barnier, the EU’s Brexit negotiator, doing by trying to make UK/EU security cooperation conditional? Only last month, he said: “solidarity is not to be negotiated” and warned Britain not to seek a “trade-off between security and trade”. And he was not alone in doing so: other European leaders said the same… But now Barnier talks of conditionality, the very thing he once rejected. Security cooperation, he says, “is made possible by trust founded on common rules and safeguards, shared decisions, joint supervision and implementation and a common Court of Justice”. Without these things, he threatened, “you lose the benefits of this cooperation”. – Nick Timothy for the Telegraph (£) Emily Commander: Brexit is all fun and games for Guy Verhofstadt The ostensible reason for Guy Verhofstadt’s appearance before the exiting the European Union committee yesterday was to answer questions about his priorities for the ongoing Brexit negotiations. Observers might have been forgiven, however, for thinking that the Brexit co-ordinator and chairman of the European parliament’s Brexit steering group was there to gloat… Mr Verhofstadt’s “cold logic” (as Stephen Crabb described it) relied upon a relatively subtle distinction: between EU rules (monolithic, pre-existent and UK-ratified) on the one hand, and UK red lines (political, expendable) on the other. Until the UK erased some of its red lines, he said, not much progress could be made. Andrea Jenkyns was one of the members who bridled at this differential treatment… His message was clear: you made your bed, and it’s quite amusing to watch you lie in it. – Emily Commander for The Times (£) Allister Heath: The Tories’ obsession with raising taxes shows they have badly lost their way There will only be a short-term Brexit fiscal boost if the economy holds up, hence the vital importance of forcing the Treasury’s defiant declinists to start focusing on competitiveness and growth again. Instead, the Prime Minister appears to have given the Chancellor near carte blanche to hike taxes, and he will now be egged on by Tory Remainers with a political death wish to “prove” that there is no Brexit dividend. He may freeze the personal allowance, dragging 400,000 more families into the 40p tax rate in a couple of years. This is madness and shows the government has lost its way. Taxes are already at their highest level as a share of national income since the savage recession of 1981-82, and any further increase would put us on course to overtake the peak reached in 1969-70. How could a Tory government live with itself if it smashes that sorry record? … If it is to have a chance, Brexit needs to be accompanied by a radically pro-growth, pro-enterprise economic policy. Tory MPs who want to keep their seats at the next election will have to tell the Chancellor, in no uncertain terms, that they will not tolerate his fiscal hara-kiri. – Allister Heath for the Telegraph (£) Comment in brief Confused about why Britain must leave the customs union? Look at the World Cup – Graeme Leach for City A.M. Three summits but no Brexit progress likely – Tony Barber for the FT (£) May must detoxify Brexit – Guardian editorial Brexit ministers need to be focusing on business and Brussels – Times leader (£) Nigel Farage’s last laugh – Charlie Cooper interview for Politico News in brief British negotiators said to be discussing the possibility of delaying the UK’s EU departure – The Sun Brexit deadline could be delayed over lack of progress in EU negotiations, claims Charles Tannock MEP – Express Numbers buying second homes in France decline – The Times (£)