Today’s political headlines include Brexit adviser warned May against customs backstop, DUP threatens to withdraw support, former attorney general rejects Government’s legal advice position, Labour would table vote of confidence if Commons rejects deal.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Brexit adviser warned May against customs backstop<\/span> DUP threatens to withdraw support in confidence vote<\/span> Former attorney general rejects Government\u2019s legal advice position<\/span> Labour would table vote of confidence if Commons rejects deal<\/span> Gove warns there\u2019s a \u2018real risk\u2019 of another referendum<\/span> Brexit TV debate dispute continues<\/span> Questions raised about Osamor following resignation<\/span> Javid and May in low-skilled migration disagreement<\/span>
\n<\/strong>The Daily Telegraph<\/em>\u00a0reveals<\/a>\u00a0that Oliver Robbins, the Prime Minister\u2019s chief Brexit adviser, warned her that the backstop on customs would be a \u2018bad outcome\u2019 for the UK, and that an extended transition period would provide a \u2018cast iron escape route\u2019 instead. The letter was given to the paper by \u2018a concerned minister\u2019.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that the DUP has threatened not to support Theresa May in a confidence vote, should the Brexit deal fail to get through the Commons. A source said that the party felt that the Conservatives were not keeping to the terms of the confidence-and-supply deal, by risking creating a sea border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>According<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0The Daily Telegraph<\/em>, Lord Goldsmith, who served as Attorney General under Tony Blair, has said that the Government\u2019s use of the Iraq War as precedent for keeping its legal advice on Brexit secret is wrong as the Commons never formally requested it. The Government is to publish a legal position statement today, with Attorney General Geoffrey Cox taking question from MPs.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0says<\/a>\u00a0that Labour\u2019s Shadow Brexit Secretary Sir Keir Starmer has indicated that his party would almost certainly try to hold a vote of no confidence in the Government if its Brexit deal is rejected by the Commons. He said that if it couldn\u2019t obtain a general election, it would then \u2018press on to other options such as a public vote\u2019, which should not include a no-deal Brexit as this would be too damaging.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Secretary Michael Gove has warned rebel Conservative MPs that there was a \u2018real risk\u2019 of a second referendum if they failed to back Theresa May\u2019s Brexit deal, but did not rule out backing a Norway-style deal is the Commons rejected May\u2019s.\u00a0The Sun<\/em>\u00a0suggests<\/a>\u00a0that the Government has considered scrapping the vote on the deal so that May can reopen negotiations, either to extract concessions or to demonstrate that there is no better deal on offer.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Guardian<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0on the dispute over the proposed Brexit television debate. Several Conservative Brexiteers have written to the BBC complaining about their exclusion, while Sir Vince Cable, the Lib Dem leader, has made a similar complaint to the BBC, ITV and Sky. Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn still haven\u2019t agreed on a format or a broadcaster.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>The Times<\/em>\u00a0reports<\/a>\u00a0that Sir Alistair Graham, former head of the Committee on Standards in Public Life, has claimed there are \u2018questions about\u2019 Kate Osamor\u2019s \u2018suitability to be an MP\u2019. She stepped down as Shadow International Development Secretary at the weekend after the paper reported that she knew about her son\u2019s conviction on drugs offences earlier than had been claimed, and she threatened one of the paper\u2019s journalists, throwing water at him.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>In an\u00a0exclusive<\/a>,\u00a0The Sun<\/em>\u00a0says that Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Theresa May are arguing about how quickly to restrict low-skilled immigration after Brexit. Javid wants to keep the system as it is for a period, while May favours more immediate restrictions to encourage firms to recruit British workers instead.<\/p>\n