Today’s political headlines include May’s fight to save her Brexit plans, the committee telling advertisers to boycott tech giants, Mike Ashley’s demands to give evidence on saving the high street and the CBI’s doubts over Brexit deal.\u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
May fights to save her Brexit plans<\/span> Advertisers should boycott tech giants, committee says<\/span> Mike Ashley demands to give MPs evidence on saving the high street<\/span> Internal email reveals CBI\u2019s doubts about Brexit deal<\/span> New teams to tackle drugs in prisons<\/span> New report criticises smart meter rollout<\/span> Home Office admits to failings over settlement visas<\/span> Farage calls for UKIP leader to be sacked<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0claims<\/a>\u00a0that Theresa May is fighting to save her Brexit deal on two fronts, following the publication of the text of the political declaration yesterday. Tory backbenchers repeatedly called on her to renegotiate the deal during a debate yesterday, while the EU has warned that no further concessions can be made. The Spanish Prime Minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez [pictured] has even claimed that he will \u2018veto Brexit\u2019 over Spain\u2019s concerns about Gibraltar.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Parliament\u2019s Intelligence and Security Committee has called for advertisers to boycott tech companies like Facebook and Google unless they demonstrate a serious commitment to tackle terrorist material online, warning that this had been a key contributor to incidents including the Manchester bombing. Dominic Grieve, the committee\u2019s chair, said that firms should follow the example of advertisers such as Unilever.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Guardian,<\/em>\u00a0Sports Direct founder Mike Ashley has demanded to give evidence to the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on how to save the high street. The committee originally asked for a representative from House of Fraser to speak as part of a panel of four, but Ashley felt that this \u2018wouldn\u2019t achieve anything\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>An email accidentally sent to ITV News has\u00a0revealed<\/a>\u00a0a difference in opinion within the CBI over Theresa May\u2019s Brexit deal. While the organisation\u2019s Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn has publicly welcomed the deal, while admitting that it is \u2018not perfect\u2019, an internal email from the business groups\u2019 head of EU negotiations described it as \u2018not a good deal\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Sun<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Justice Secretary David Gauke has announced the creation of new \u2018SWAT teams\u2019 in 100 prisons to tackle gangs behind drug-fuelled violence in jails. The teams of specially-trained prison officers will detect drugs, mobile phones and other illicit items, and have already been deployed at eight high-security prisons.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Daily Mail<\/em>\u00a0carries details<\/a>\u00a0of a report by the National Audit Office that warns that plans to install smart meters in every home by 2020 will not succeed, will cost at least \u00a3500m more than estimated and the devices may not deliver the cuts to energy bills which were originally promised.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The\u00a0Financial Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that the Home Office has admitted that it wrongly applied rules, leading it to refuse settlement visas to professionals over tax discrepancies. Immigration minister Caroline Nokes said that the findings of the department\u2019s inquiry would be \u2018used to inform our future decision-making\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Nigel Farage has called for Gerard Batten to be sacked as UKIP leader after he appointed the EDL founder Tommy Robinson as an adviser, warning that if UKIP continued heading on its current trajectory, it would be \u2018finished\u2019. Robinson is banned from joining UKIP under a rule barring those with EDL links from becoming members.<\/p>\n