Prominent Remain-supporting Labour MP asserts it is “highly probable” Russia secretly swayed the EU referendum result Russian hackers ‘probably’ swayed the historic EU referendum vote for Brexit, a former Cabinet minister has claimed. Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, a prominent Remain supporter, raised doubts about the validity of the result in June as he warned that people were underestimating the extent of cyber-warfare by Vladimir Putin. Mr Bradshaw was mocked for the comments. One senior Tory deemed them worthy of Soviet-era propaganda paper Pravda while another said Britain was a ‘long way from the Cold War if it’s now Labour MPs who invent Russian subversion’. – Daily Mail Ben Bradshaw has told the House of Commons it is “highly probable” that Russia secretly intervened in the EU referendum in order to influence the result. The MP made the comment during his speech on the crisis in Syria, warning that the growing influence of Russia was affecting countries across the world and said that where the Kremlin could not deploy its military it was turning to online attacks through disinformation and hacking. – Buzzfeed Mr Bradshaw, dismissed as a “Remoaner” by Leave campaigners, told MPs: “I don’t think we have even begun to wake up to what Russia is doing when it comes to cyber warfare. Not only their interference, now proven, in the American presidential campaign, probably in our own referendum last year.” He added: “We don’t have the evidence for that yet, but I think it’s highly probable.” – Sky News Labour ‘will fight for a soft Brexit’ says Sir Keir Starmer Labour’s Brexit spokesman said the party would fight for soft-Brexit that gives British businesses easy access to trade. Sir Keir Starmer said Labour has a clear plan for the country after it quits the EU, while the Government “veers” between the “undefined” and “vague”. He used his speech at Bloomberg LP’s European headquarters in Central London to say the party would fight any strategy that “tears us apart from our EU partners”. – Evening Standard Labour must speak for the 52 per cent as well as remain voters – LabourList Labour splits on immigration as Keir Starmer says free movement cannot be ignored in Brexit talks – PoliticsHome Forget the Government for a moment, why can’t Labour tell us its Brexit plan? – Tom Harris for the Daily Telegraph (£) > WATCH via BrexitCentral’s YouTube channel: The key passage of Sir Keir Starmer’s speech Secrecy is damaging Theresa May’s Brexit preparations, claims Whitehall-linked think-tank New research by the Institute for Government suggests the Civil Service urgently needs to be told how to prepare for the negotiation process and the UK’s future outside the European Union. In a damning report, experts says the absence of a clear plan for Brexit and the desire for secrecy are hindering preparations for Article 50 and negotiations that will immediately follow. The report called Whitehall’s preparation for the UK’s exit from the EU claims Whitehall departments are not working consistently across the board to ensure policies and implementation plans are in place to avoid a “cliff edge” when the UK leaves the Union. – Sky News Civil service lacks details and directions to deliver Brexit – Institute for Government press release PM says there will be no ‘cliff edge’ as Labour warns on hard Brexit – Sky News Britain should be wary of cutting its links to Europe – Guardian editorial Big Brexit decisions delayed until next year amid cabinet squabbles – The Times (£) The UK wants a hard Brexit, but only after a soft landing The prime minister has said controlling immigration is not up for discussion, ruling out staying in the single market. Taking back control of trade policy and leaving the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice is also explicit, leaving Britain outside the customs union…[Philip Hammond] was asked if a transitional arrangement will be “necessary” to protect business. After some diplomatic waffle, he was asked if the answer was yes. “That’s another way of putting it,” he said…The U.K. will kick off its exit negotiations by asking for an extended grace period to protect its economy. Britain will tear up its gym membership, in other words, but ask if it can keep using the changing rooms until it can find a new locker. – Politico Philip Hammond becomes standard bearer of soft Brexit – FT (£) With patience and a little common sense, Britain can have a good Brexit – Philip Johnston for the Daily Telegraph (£) David Davis privately ‘accepts’ Britain may need to enter into so-called Brexit transition arrangements – Daily Telegraph (£) Guy Verhofstadt says transitional Brexit deal ‘possible’ – BBC Why a slow Brexit would be a political headache for Theresa May – George Eaton for the New Statesman’s Staggers blog Theresa May to meet the Tory ‘new bastards’ opposed to hard Brexit later today – The Guardian EU Parliament’s Brexit negotiator Guy Verhofstadt says transitional deal must not be “eternal” – City A.M. Furious Farage accuses Government of ‘backsliding’ Brexit by considering transitional deal – Daily Express Urgent Brexit deal needed to avert banking job losses, peers to warn Tens of thousands of banking jobs could be lost to continental Europe from next year if ministers do not agree a transitional deal on single market access with the EU, a Lords report on financial services after Brexit is expected to warn. Peers on the committee, due to report on Thursday, have been struck by the urgent need for financial institutions to make decisions on their location because they cannot wait until the end of Brexit negotiations in 2019 to find out if they can trade in the single market from London. – The Guardian ‘We have no plans for the future of the EU without Britain,’ admits European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator Brussels has ‘no clear plans for the future’ of the EU without Britain, the European Parliament’s chief Brexit negotiator admitted today. Europhiles have repeatedly accused Britain of not having a plan for leaving, but Guy Verhofstadt said the remaining 27 member states are also ill prepared for the country’s departure. The MEP and former Belgian prime minister called on leaders to urgently draw up ideas such as developing a European army at a Brussels summit later this week. – Daily Mail Brussels’ Brexit negotiator demands Britain must leave the single market – Daily Express Desperate EU leaders ‘aim to strike immediate deal with UK as soon as May triggers Brexit’ – Daily Express Call from peers for ‘unilateral’ Brexit guarantee for EU citizens The UK has a “moral” duty to guarantee the status of EU nationals living in the country ahead of negotiations over its exit, a group of peers has said. A Lords EU committee has called for an immediate “unilateral undertaking” that EU nationals can continue to live, work and study in the UK after Brexit. It said failure to do this would have a severe impact on migrants’ rights.Ministers say they expect this to happen but need equivalent guarantees for UK citizens on the Continent. – BBC British businesses need a responsive migration system – CBI boss Carolyn Fairbairn for The Times (£) As an EU citizen living in a Britain that voted for Brexit, I’m angry – Zlata Rodionova for The Independent Job optimism at three-year high despite Brexit Skills shortages and the UK’s looming divorce from the EU mean hiring optimism among private sector firms is at its strongest for three years, according to a report on the UK’s employment outlook. The survey of 2,100 firms – by employment firm Manpower – found construction and utilities firms were most bullish on employment prospects for the first quarter of 2017, despite general uncertainty over the country’s future relationship with the bloc. – Sky News Rupert Myers: This plan to block Brexit using European law is dangerous nonsense – and I voted Remain The most significant point is that it should not be for EU judges to interfere in the UK’s plan to leave the EU. Any attempt by them to do so would not just be politically disastrous, but it would be damaging to the negotiations between the UK and the EU. Any move by ECJ Judges to fetter the UK’s leeway will push public support towards a clean break. Even the attempt looks like a move by elites to use the EU to frustrate the will of the voters whose very dissatisfaction has been stoked by decades of just this sort of conduct. “Control” is not lawyers in Ireland trying to get the ECJ to roll the pitch for another referendum. It is, in short, a staggeringly high-handed move that will infuriate voters, and play right into the hands of Leave campaigners. – Rupert Myers for the Daily Telegraph Ross Clark: Why Remoaners are wrong to claim Brexit is starting to bite What both the hotel and restaurant sectors and education sectors do have in common is that they employ large numbers of people at or near the minimum wage (education includes nurseries, not just Eton). Both, therefore, have suffered from a rise in costs unrelated to Brexit: the increase in the National Minimum Wage in April from £6.70 to £7.20 an hour. That is a sharp rise of £7.40 in costs, yet funny enough the Remain lobby doesn’t want to talk about this. It is only interested in inflationary effects which it can somehow blame on Brexit. – Ross Clark for the Spectator’s Coffee House blog Why is UK inflation rising so quickly? Blame Brexit and the oil price – The Guardian Christian Wolmar: We don’t have to abide by referendum result if we believe Brexit will be a disaster for our country We are the Opposition. We should oppose what the government is doing when it is damaging Britain. We will undoubtedly lose some people along the way. A minority in the party will not like it. But we will gain others. Of course it is a gamble. But less of one than sitting on our hands while the party haemorrhages votes because we lack the courage of our convictions. – Christian Wolmar for LabourList David Runciman: We have been thinking about Brexit back to front The great irony of Brexit is that a revolt against the established order has so far done nothing to force the established order to rethink how it does its business. Brexit has sucked power back into the Whitehall and Westminster institutions with which many of those who voted to leave the European Union are so disgusted. – David Runciman for the New Statesman’s Staggers blog Across a continent, there is a void between governments and their citizens – Prospect Brexit is a European problem the EU dodges at its own peril – Melanie Sully for EurActiv Brexit comment in brief The seven ways ‘Remain’ could have won the EU referendum – Tim Shipman for The Spectator’s Coffee House blog Brexit need not be Farage’s style of Brexit, says Douglas Carswell – The Guardian Economic forecasters may be easy to mock but we need them – David Smith for The Times (£) A fairy tale of the future: How Brexit transformed Britain… into Germany – Stian Westlake for City A.M. Last of the Kolpaks? Why South Africans are in a rush before Brexit bites – The Guardian Brexit news in brief Brussels bigwigs to make swathes of EU lawmaking secret from voters – Daily Express George Galloway slams free movement and blasts ‘liberals’ for calling Brexit vote ‘racist’ – Daily Express MPs have drafted a letter attacking the EU over its tariffs protectionist policies and tariffs on imports – PoliticsHome Housebuilder Bellway sees strong demand for new homes as it defies Brexit doom – This is Money Central London house prices plunge amid Brexit fears and stamp duty hikes – Evening Standard Will Guy Verhofstadt run for European Parliament President? – The Parliament Magazine