Today’s political headlines include May raising the prospect of extending the Brexit transition, MPs may not get a meaningful vote, Government admits to \u00a31bn error in disability benefit and May promises serious response to bullying scandal.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May raises prospect of extending Brexit transition<\/span> MPs may not get \u2018meaningful vote\u2019 on Brexit deal, Raab says<\/span> Government admits to \u00a31bn error in disability benefit<\/span> May promises \u2018serious response\u2019 to bullying scandal<\/span> Valerie Vaz accused of bullying<\/span> Williamson suggests Capita may lose army recruitment contract<\/span> France publishes no-deal Brexit law<\/span> Trump notifies Congress of intention to reach trade deal with UK<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May told fellow EU leaders last night that she was prepared to extend the Brexit transition period and called on them to have \u2018courage\u2019 and come up with \u2018creative\u2019 ideas to solve the negotiating deadlock, adding that she was \u2018confident\u2019 that a deal could be reached. The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that EU leaders have cancelled plans to host a special Brexit summit next month but are ready to host it when necessary, with chief negotiator Michel Barnier saying that \u2018much more time\u2019 was needed.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The BBC\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab has suggested that MPs may not get a \u2018meaningful vote\u2019 on the final Brexit deal, instead being offered a choice of accepting or rejecting the deal rather than being able to amend the motion. Tory MP Dominic Grieve, who campaigned for the \u2018meaningful vote\u2019 has called on Downing Street to issue a \u2018very rapid\u2019 clarification, while Ken Clark said that the Government \u2018won\u2019t get away\u2019 with this.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mirror<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that over 100,000 sick and disabled people are to be paid over \u00a31bn after the Government admitted to errors in Employment and Support Allowance which had led claimants to lose out on up to \u00a320,000 each over seven years. Once ongoing payments are taken into account, the total cost of the error will be \u00a31.67bn by 2025.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May has promised a \u2018serious response\u2019 to Dame Laura Cox\u2019s report on bullying in Parliament after Labour MP Teresa Cox used Prime Minister\u2019s Questions to raise the case of a constituent who worked in Parliament and was being sexually harassed by a co-worker, but was \u2018treated like the problem rather than the victim\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons, Valerie Vaz, who had led Labour\u2019s response to the bullying scandal was herself accused of bullying by one of her staff in 2012. Vaz denies the allegations and Labour has declined to investigate as the events happened too long ago.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that, appearing before the Commons Defence Committee yesterday, Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said that he was considering cancelling the army\u2019s recruitment contract with Capita as recruitment figures were \u2018atrocious\u2019, although he admitted that this was not all the firm\u2019s fault.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun\u00a0<\/em>reports<\/a>\u00a0that France has published its draft law for a no-deal Brexit. British citizens would become third country nationals, barred from holding jobs reserved from EU citizens with access to healthcare and welfare restricted and would require a visa or residence permit to enter the country. Border controls would also be reinstated.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that President Donald Trump has formally notified the US Congress that he intends to start negotiating a trade agreement with the UK. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer wrote that negotiations would begin \u2018as soon as\u2019 the UK was ready after Brexit and that preparatory work to ensure that the two countries would be \u2018well prepared\u2019 for this is underway.<\/p>\n