Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, has said that her party would consider agreeing to the Irish backstop provided it were time limited. (See 6.12pm.) In the past the DUP has said that even a temporary version of the backstop would make a Brexit deal unacceptable.
Downing Street has categorically denied a claim that Johnson groped the journalist Charlotte Edwardes. In a column in the Sunday Times, Edwardes said the incident took place at the offices of the Spectator magazine in London shortly after Johnson became editor in 1999. After the lunch she spoke to the young woman sitting on the other side of Johnson who said the same thing had happened to her. Describing what happened, Edwardes said:
I’m seated on Johnson’s right; on his left is a young woman I know. More wine is poured; more wine is drunk. Under the table I feel Johnson’s hand on my thigh. He gives it a squeeze. His hand is high up my leg and he has enough inner flesh beneath his fingers to make me sit suddenly upright.
A Number 10 spokesperson said: “The allegation is untrue.” Sources said the quote related to the allegation that Johnson put his hand on Edwardes’ knee. Sources close to Johnson are said to be furious at the claim, which has been described as “bollocks” and “nonsense”. Dawn Butler, the shadow equalities minister, said Johnson had serious questions to answer.
This is a shocking, but sadly all too familiar, story.
What is it about powerful men feeling entitled to harass women?
NEW: Dominic Grieve tells Bloomberg News he's received a death threat this afternoon following the Mail on Sunday's story that @BorisJohnson's office is investigating #ForeignCollusion with the EU over the Benn Acthttps://t.co/oxXq0yLDQ2
DUP would consider agreeing to time-limited backstop, says Arlene Foster
Here is the quote from Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, telling a fringe at the party conference that her party would consider agreeing to a time-limited Irish backstop. (See 5.20pm.) Foster said:
In terms of the time-limited backstop, can I remind you what Leo Varadkar thinks of the time-limited backstop - he says it is not a backstop at all.
And so in terms of the time-limited backstop we have said in the past it is something we would look at.
I don’t think it is something that Leo Varadkar would look at, but certainly if a time-limited backstop was on offer it is something that we would look at but I don’t believe it is at this present moment in time.
But Foster also said that she was adamant that Northern Ireland had to “leave on the same terms as the rest of the United Kingdom” in relation to customs arrangements. She said:
We cannot have internal customs borders within the United Kingdom ... it has constitutional implications as well as economic implications.
Actually when you think of the amount of trade we does east-west and west-east it completely blows out of the water the North-South trade.
I’m not saying the north-south trade is not important - it is of course important - but our east-west trade is much more important.
Arlene Foster, the DUP leader, at the Tory conference. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
A march organised by the People’s Assembly Against Austerity protesting against the Tories outside the conference this afternoon. Photograph: Ian Forsyth/Getty Images
Rees-Mogg says Farage is 'in many ways admirable' - despite PM's team saying he's not fit and proper person
In the official text of the speech he delivered earlier, Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, is quoted as saying:
On the right we have Nigel Farage – supported by the finest politician we have sent to Brussels – my sister. However we must not delude ourselves into thinking that a vote for the Brexit party does anything other than increase the risk of Brexit being cancelled entirely.
But when he was delivering his speech, Rees-Mogg including four words before Farage’s name not in the original text. I have flagged them up in bold.
On the right we have the in many ways admirable Nigel Farage ...
Rees-Mogg is an arch Brexiter and so it is not surprising that he thinks like this. And of course his sister, Annunziata, is a Brexit party MEP.
Arlene Foster rules out regulatory checks between NI and GB on anything other than agricultural goods. Also very clear she could not accept dual customs status for Northern Ireland, with it in both the U.K. and EU customs unions
“We've been very clear about all of that. Some people don't understand that when we set out our position, we meant it. The whole raison d'etre of the DUP is the union.”
Arlene Foster says in response to @kateferguson4 that the DUP would look at a time limited backstop but she doesn’t think Leo Varadkar would ever entertain the idea
On proposal of a backstop time limit Foster says: “if a time-limited backstop was on offer it is something we would look at. I don’t believe it is at this moment in time.” Says Varadkar has made clear he would not accept it
DUP leader Arlene Foster says they will back Boris if he faces a confidence vote in Parliament. She says “putting Jeremy Corbyn into government is not something the DUP will ever be accused of” #CPC19
Fascinating @Policy_Exchange fringe with Arlene Foster. For those looking for a Brexit compromise, clear the one thing that the DUP is prepared to consider is a time limit on the backstop. But as Foster admitted, Dublin/EU unlikely to entertain that
Brexit deal can pass Commons if DUP back it, says Rees-Mogg
In the Q&A in the conference hall this afternoon the panel was also asked why there were grounds to think a Brexit deal might get through parliament now, when MPs voted Theresa May’s down three times. Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, replied:
I think the mood has changed in the country at large, that everybody now wants to leave and start talking about other things. And I think that’s true in the House of Commons as well. And I think if the DUP are happy with the deal, there will be very few Conservatives, including those who are without the whip, who are against a deal. And at that point there are a number of people in other parties who think that, yes, we must now just finish this.
Jacob Rees-Mogg posing for a picture at the conference. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Here is Nicola Sturgeon, Scotland’s first minister and the SNP leader, has posted this in response to the Matthew d’Ancona tweet I featured earlier. (See 2.04pm.)
The condescension of elements of the Westminster commentariat knows no bounds at times. @theSNP is perfectly capable of thinking through the implications of various scenarios. https://t.co/aGYsaFpiou
EU 'can't last long' in its current form, Rees-Mogg tells Tories
In between their speeches Michael Gove, Jacob Rees-Moggand Steve Barclay answered a few questions on stage posed by a moderator, the Telegraph’s Brexit editor Dia Chakravarty.
The most interesting answers came when Chakravarty asked if they thought that other countries would follow the UK and leave the EU.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, said he did not think the EU would survive long in its current form. In response to the question about whether other countries would leave, he replied:
Well, they would if they’d got any sense, wouldn’t they?
Rees-Mogg went on:
I think the problems with the euro are so deep-seated that the current Euro project, European Union project, can’t last long into the future. But things often last longer than one anticipates.
Michael Gove said he did not expect any other countries to join the UK in leaving. He replied:
I don’t think so ... I think there are particular reasons why Britain was right to leave the European Union at this time, and I respect the right of other nations to forge their own future. So, my own hunch is Britain will leave, other countries will stay, but 10, 15, 20 years on, I think we may see a very different European Union from the one we have now.
Brexit secretary Steve Barclay urges people to embrace opportunities of Brexit
Steve Barclay, the Brexit secretary, has just finished his speech. Here are the main points.
Barclay urged people to embrace the opportunities of Brexit.
It’s time to stop apologising for Brexit, and to unleash the opportunities it offers.
We can source products that we do not produce at a better price.
Too often the EU restricts access to markets that want to trade with us…
Like the foods that we do not grow, or the goods that we do not specialise in producing,
With new trade deals with other countries we can help the developing world through trade, rather than handing out aid.
To empower countries through free trade is the essence of being Conservative, and an important reason why I am a Brexiteer.
He urged EU states to match the UK in terms of offering to protect the right of nationals after Brexit.
We value the contribution you make to our country and are pleased that you have chosen to make your home here.
We have guaranteed your rights to live, work and stay in the UK with full citizens rights for as long as you choose.
Now it is time for the EU to match that guarantee.
He claimed delaying Brexit would cost the UK £1bn a month.
And it has a massive financial cost - in extra payments to the EU.
It costs an extra £1bn in payments to Brussels every month we delay.
This is misleading because, if the UK were to get a deal with a transition period until the end of next year, which is its stated goal, the UK would continue to make those payments.
MPs holding voters 'in contempt', Jacob Rees-Mogg claims
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the leader of the Commons, told the conference in his speech that MPs were holding voters in contempt. He said:
The people have spoken. Ladies and gentlemen, you have spoken. We are not your leaders, we are your servants, and it is our responsibility to do what you have willed. Parliament has promised to do it, over 80 per cent of members of parliament were elected on a pledge to respect the result.
The sovereignty of parliament does not come to Parliament out of a void. It comes to parliament from the people. Yet this parliament is now holding the people in contempt. They are holding you in contempt.
Hence we must have a general election. It is time for a new parliament. A new egg must be laid that will not be addled. We trust the people. Our opponents do not.
Jacob Rees-Mogg speaking at the Tory conference. Photograph: Reuters
Gove suggests delaying Brexit would cause more damage than no deal on 31 October
Gove said in his speech that the UK must leave the EU on 31 October.
If necessary, the UK will leave without a deal, he said.
The level of our preparations has accelerated massively since Boris became Prime Minister.
Of course we cannot anticipate every risk and cannot guarantee against some turbulence.
Gove also claimed that, if the UK has to leave the EU without a deal, the difficulties caused “will pass”. But delaying Brexit would be more damaging, he implied.
But if we can’t [get a deal], then leave we must.
Because, while the difficulties caused by leaving without a deal will pass, the damage to our democracy in not getting Brexit done would endure, and resound, for much longer.
Our democracy is precious - and it depends on people trusting us as politicians - when we say we will put our trust in them.
Michael Gove speaking at the Conservative conference. Photograph: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
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