Sign up here to receive the daily news briefing in your inbox every morning with exclusive insight from the BrexitCentral team Labour’s Barry Gardiner admits the Irish border issue is being “played up” – and there’s no reason to fear a return to paramilitary activity… The shadow international trade secretary has suggested the the Irish border issue and the Good Friday deal are being “played up” in Brexit talks for economic and political reasons. At a Q&A, Barry Gardiner appeared to dismiss the idea that a “normal” border would increase paramilitary activity. He said it was “hugely in the Republic of Ireland’s economic interest” to have no tariff and no external border. Labour’s Owen Smith said the remarks were “reckless and plain wrong”. Mr Gardiner made the remarks at a think-tank session in Brussels last month, but an audio recording has only just become available. – BBC News Barry Gardiner: Good Friday deal ‘played up’ for economic reasons – Guardian Full transcript of what Gardiner told a Brussels meeting last month – The Red Roar …as Hillary Clinton says Brexit must not undermine the peace in Northern Ireland Hillary Clinton has dramatically intervened in the dispute over Brexit to warn that the hand of history will be “heavy and unforgiving” if a hard border is allowed to undermine peace in Northern Ireland. Marking the 20th anniversary of the Good Friday agreement with her first newspaper opinion piece since losing the US election, the former secretary of state becomes the most senior non-European yet to sound the alarm. Failure to find a post-Brexit solution that avoids new frontier controls when the UK leaves the EU risks breaching the terms of a wider Irish peace deal that was struck with considerable US support. – Guardian Don’t let Brexit undermine Ireland’s peace – Hillary Clinton in the Guardian Respect deal or risk return to violence, warns peace broker – The Times (£) Tony Blair claims peace in Northern Ireland ‘at risk’ after Brexit – Express Ex-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern: People would ‘pull down’ Irish border – BBC News Ex-Ireland leader reveals cunning plan to thwart Brexit and force UK into Customs Union – Express > Nigel Dodds MP today on BrexitCentral: 20 years on from the Belfast Agreement, Northern Ireland must accept the mandate for Brexit and respond accordingly > Previously on BrexitCentral: Lord Trimble says it’s “rubbish” that Brexit will undermine the Good Friday Agreement Cllr Alexander Redpath: Why Brexit won’t derail the Northern Ireland peace process David Davis reckons final EU exit deal is ‘90 per cent done’ Tory veteran David Davis revealed the final exit deal with the EU was almost 90 per cent there – in a bumper boost for Brexit Britain. The Brexit Secretary said EU leaders realised a deal was in their best interest – but admitted he’d underestimated the Northern Ireland deadlock. The Cabinet minister also accused Sinn Fein of using their “strong influence” to meddle in the negotiations that he said were going “broadly as expected”. Interviewed by retired US Army General Stan McChrystal, who now runs the McChrystal Group leadership consultancy, he said divorce talks were going “broadly as expected”. He said “some of the surprises have been on Northern Ireland” – but he had “a reasonable idea of where we’ll end up”. He added: “Some of it I’m not so certain on, but If I wrote on an envelope to give it to you now I could probably tell you 80-90 per cent of where we’ll end up.” – The Sun Michael Gove launches consultation on a post-Brexit live animal export ban Michael Gove is considering a ban on the live export of animals after Brexit to help the UK become a world leader in animal welfare. The environment secretary has asked industry experts and campaigners to submit evidence on the process, with “all options” being considered. Labour called the announcement “weak” and it wants stronger action. The National Farmers’ Union estimates up to 20,000 live sheep – but no cattle – were exported to Europe in 2017. The rules of the European Union’s single market currently prevent the UK from banning exports of livestock, according to BBC rural affairs correspondent David Gregory-Kumar. But he said that live exports only account for a “tiny part” of the UK’s £2.4bn trade in meat and livestock products with Continental Europe. – BBC News Danish Prime Minister tells Theresa May Brexit will cause more bureaucracy… Denmark’s prime minister has warned Theresa May that Brexit has a “price tag” after a meeting between the two leaders in Copenhagen. Speaking at a joint press conference with Ms May after the meeting, Lars Løkke Rasmussen said Brexit would create “more bureaucracy” for businesses trading between the two countries. “We have to be realistic and we have to realise there will be changes,” he said. – Independent > Watch on BrexitCentral’s YouTube channel: Highlights of Theresa May and Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen’s poress conference …as she suggests Britain’s fishing quotas will be up for grabs after Brexit… Theresa May yesterday admitted Britain’s fishing quotas will be up for grabs after Brexit – risking a bitter war with Tory Brexiteers. Speaking alongside Danish PM Lars Rasmussen on a trip to Copenhagen yesterday, the PM said: “As an independent coastal state, we will want to ensure fair and reciprocal access to waters.” Her comments risk opening up a fresh rift with Tory MPs who have warned they would reject a Brexit deal that trades away Britain’s fishing rights. The PM was accused of betraying Britain’s fishing heroes after agreeing Britain would continue to be restrained by hated EU fishing rules during the 21-month transition deal. – The Sun …but the EU warns fishermen they will need permission to access UK waters with ‘no deal’ The EU has warned European fishermen that they will have to ask Britain for permission before spreading their nets in its waters in a ‘no deal’ Brexit scenario. In a letter published on Monday, officials in Brussels said there was “considerable uncertainty” about the terms of post-Brexit trade, and urged fishermen to take into account “legal repercussions…which need to be considered when the United Kingdom becomes a third country [non-EU member].” “In accordance with international law of the sea, fishing vessels wishing to engage in fishing activities in waters under the sovereignty or jurisdiction of a third country are required to obtain a fishing authorisation from that third country,” the letter continued. – Telegraph (£) Norway offers to roll over UK trade agreements after Brexit Norway’s government has signalled its co-operation with British wishes to roll over trade arrangements with non-EU countries in the transition phase after Brexit. The UK’s tariff-free trade in goods with Norway and scores of other non-EU countries is ensured by EU treaty arrangements, which for Britain will end with Brexit in March 2019. But Britain wants those agreements to continue to apply as if it were still an EU member state during its post-Brexit transition, provisionally agreed to last until the end of 2020. – FT (£) Brussels bid to ‘meddle’ in English local elections Brussels was accused of attempting to thwart Brexit last night after it launched an unprecedented campaign to get European citizens to vote in next month’s local elections. The European Commission is using its UK Facebook page to encourage EU citizens living in Britain to join the electoral roll. In a post, the Commission wrote: ‘As an EU citizen living in the UK you have the right to vote in the UK local election on 3 May.’ The post has instructions on how to register to vote along with an image of a polling booth. It comes after Labour and the Lib Dems told voters the local polls were a chance to derail Theresa May’s Brexit plans. – Daily Mail Billionaire George Soros hands another £400,000 to an anti-Brexit campaign Billionaire philanthropist George Soros has donated another £400,000 to the pro-EU campaign group Best for Britain in the wake of the Cambridge Analytica data scandal, BuzzFeed News can exclusively reveal… Soros previously donated £400,000 through his Open Society Foundations to the pro-Remain group, which launched almost a year ago with the goal of “fighting to keep the door open to EU membership”… A crowdfunding campaign then raised £100,000 for Best for Britain, which Soros pledged to match. However, BuzzFeed News can exclusively reveal that he has donated that amount plus an extra £300,000. – BuzzFeed News The eurozone is already heading back into recession Retail sales are falling sharply. Industrial production is slumping. Construction is sluggish and the government is weak and clueless with little idea of how to respond to falling demand. No, don’t worry, you haven’t accidentally stumbled across a hardcore remoaner rant about a declining, irrelevant Britain. That is actually a description of what is meant to be the eurozone’s strongest economy – Germany. Very few people seem to have noticed it yet but there are worrying signs the exporting powerhouse at the centre of the eurozone is slowing down sharply. True, it might only be a blip. Then again, that is how most recessions start. – Telegraph (£) Plans revealed for “Museum of Brexit” A Museum of Brexit is seeking to put rosettes, pamphlets and other ephemera from the 45-year Leave movement on display. Plans for a permanent tribute to the “struggle for the United Kingdom’s independence” are being announced today alongside a call for people to rummage in their attics for memorabilia. The collection, which is intended to educate future generations and serve as a resource for historians, is the idea of Gawain Towler, a former Ukip spokesman; Lee Rotherham, a Vote Leave campaigner; and Alex Deane, a Grassroots Out campaign executive. They are also asking politicians to donate items such as “a draft speech from the Maastricht debate”. – The Times (£) Brexit ‘Museum of Sovereignty’ to tell story of leaving the EU – FT (£) Roger Bootle: Don’t listen to those who shout loudest when it comes to the economics of Brexit With less than a year to go before the UK formally leaves the EU, rather than dying down, anxiety about the impact on the British economy seems to be hotting up – at least in official circles. Last week the House of Commons committee on exiting the EU published a report on the future UK-EU relationship. It was very gloomy and Hilary Benn, the committee’s chairman, said that we should prepare for “a worst-case scenario” in which the UK leaves without a deal. – Roger Bootle for the Telegraph (£) John Ashworth: The Government must not betray fishermen and coastal communities in the Brexit talks Up until March of this year, all key Government players in Brexit and fisheries were saying we were coming out of the Common Fisheries Policy at 11pm on 29th March 2019, and that the UK would be in full control. The coastal communities were ecstatic and, after years of neglect, had at long last hope for the future. But on 19th March, with the release of the draft withdrawal agreement, the points agreed highlighted in green shown by Michel Barnier said we would not take back control of our waters until 1st January 2021. One can only presume that in order to secure a 21-month deal, fishing had been sacrificed. Now we get the assurance that one just has to wait 21 months and the prize awaits, but will it? Coastal communities are wary – having given way so easily now, surely a trade deal will be bartered for fishing access in UK waters, as the European Parliament has suggested. It is a simple fact that faith and trust have gone. These communities have been bitten more than once. – John Ashworth for ConservativeHome Asa Bennett: Brussels now accepts the Brexit reality So why do some Remainers cling to mutinous fantasies? At the start of the year, I was intrigued by how untroubled European leaders seemed by the fact that they had approximately 15 months left until the United Kingdom left their club.They were happy for the door, left teasingly “open” at first in case the UK wanted to stay in, to swing shut so they could focus on forging ahead as an EU27… The resolve of the British people has been tested, but it has shown little sign of being dented over the months of wrangling as European leaders try to persuade them to recoil from the exit door. Indeed, the latest YouGov poll suggests that the proportion of voters keen on Theresa May delivering Brexit (52 per cent) remains level with the proportion that voted for it in the referendum. – Asa Bennett for the Telegraph (£) Comment in Brief The ‘turning point’ in Brexit opinion that probably isn’t – Charlie Cooper for Politico Brexit transition deal boosts UK business sentiment – Ian Stewart for Reaction The FCA cannot afford to focus on Brexit alone – Rachel Cunliffe for City A.M. I know how Lord Adonis feels – John Redwood’s Diary Save the European Union by splitting it in two – Walter Ellis for Reaction Mrs May’s magical thinking on customs won’t do the trick – Hugo Dixon for The Times (£) The Left doesn’t care to ask why Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orbán is genuinely popular – Tibor Fischer for the Telegraph (£) What to do with Viktor Orban? Europe is paralysed and divided in the face of Hungary’s – Peter Foster for the Telegraph (£) The presence of people like Orban in the EU club should worry Brussels far more than the prospect of Britain leaving it – Mark Wallace for ConservativeHome News in Brief Britons rushed for EU passports in Brexit vote year – Reuters UK ‘stepping into difficult world,’ says Ireland’s European Commissioner – BBC News UK must not neglect the EU when planning post-Brexit trade deals, says IoD – City A.M. Nigel Farage is Boudica to Europe’s Roman emperors, say cyberwarriors – The Times (£)