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The compromise moves a step closer to a Northern Ireland-only backstop - something the European Union has long pushed for, said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. “If the DUP and the Conservatives now accept the principle of some kind of border in the Irish Sea, it could be possible to get them to go the rest of the way,” he said.

Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform, said that no-deal tariff plans — under which almost 90 per cent of imported products would not face duties — made it “difficult to see” what freeports would achieve.

In a speech to the the Centre for European Reform, Major said he feared Boris Johnson could try - via the privy council - to bypass the Benn Act by suspending it until after 31 October.He said: My fear is that the government will seek to bypass statute law, by passing an order of council to suspend the act until after 31 October.It is important to note that an order of council can be passed by privy councillors – that is government ministers – without involving Her Majesty the Queen. I should warn the prime minister that – if this route is taken – it will be in flagrant defiance of parliament and utterly disrespectful to the supreme court. It would be a piece of political chicanery that no one should ever forgive or forget. Major also accused Johnson of “wilfully” destroying the prospects of cross-agreement on Brexit with his Commons onslaught on the opposition. We’ll be mopping up all the reaction to Major’s speech and covering the other political developments today.

Tidigare har det funnits en informell pakt mellan parlamentets två stora politiska grupper, kristdemokratiska EPP och socialdemokratiska S&D, att inte ge sig på varandras kandidater. I och med att parlamentet blev mer splittrat efter valet är den tiden förbi, enligt forskaren Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska.

Boris Johnson’s spokesman has insisted the government does not recognise a plan that Sir John Major warned could be used to circumvent the Benn Act, which is aimed at forcing the prime minister to seek a Brexit extension. ...Major had said he feared the government would try to bypass the act through an order of council. “It is important to note that an order of council can be passed by privy councillors – that is government ministers – without involving HM the Queen,” he told the Centre for European Reform think-tank.

Sir John Major last night claimed Boris Johnson will try to use the Privy Council to dodge Brexit extension laws.The former Tory PM fears the Government is planning to pass an Order of Council to suspend the Benn Act until after October 31. Speaking at a Centre for European Reform event at the Spanish Embassy, Sir John said: “My fear is that the Government will seek to bypass Statute Law, by passing an Order of Council to suspend the Act until after October 31. “It is important to note that an Order of Council can be passed by Privy Councillors — that is Government Ministers — without involving the Queen