PM faces double trouble in looming Brexit battle

Storm kills 2 in UK

LONDON, Oct 14, (Agencies): British Prime Minister Theresa May faces a fight on two fronts this week, battling to convince her own ministers and then Brussels as the Brexit talks come to a crunch.

She must see off the threat of a cabinet mutiny and then try to overcome the divorce negotiations logjam at a summit in Brussels – though a breakthrough still seems elusive.

Time is running out on Britain’s EU exit talks – meaning this week’s gathering of European Union leaders could prove decisive in striking a deal between London and Brussels. With Britain set to leave the bloc at the end of March, European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker is demanding “substantial progress” this week, specifically on the vexed issue of the UK’s border with the Republic of Ireland.

EU President Donald Tusk has described the summit starting Wednesday as a “moment of truth” in the Brexit talks.

As for May, she not only has to win over her continental counterparts but also increasingly restive allies back home.

The hard work starts for May on Tuesday when she will rake over the Irish border issue with her cabinet, amid speculation that further ministers could quit if the PM ploughs on with her proposals.

David Davis, who quit as Brexit secretary in July over May’s broad blueprint, wrote in The Sunday Times newspaper that her plans were “completely unacceptable” and urged ministers to “exert their collective authority” this week.

Neither London, Dublin nor Brussels wants to see checks imposed on the border between the UK’s Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic – but the problem persists of finding a way to square that aim with May’s desire to leave the European single market and the customs union.

Meanwhile,Britain’s main opposition Labour Party will not vote for a Brexit deal that offers little more than a “bridge to nowhere”, its foreign policy spokeswoman said on Sunday, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Theresa May.

“I think they (the government) are going to come along and give us ... a ridiculous binary choice,” Emily Thornberry told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

Meanwhile, British health minister Matt Hancock said on Sunday any backstop arrangement to prevent a hard border with Ireland following Brexit would be temporary, adding there were different ways to make something “credibly time-limited”.

Britain’s former Brexit secretary is urging members of May’s cabinet to rebel against her proposed deal with the European Union over the terms of Britain’s departure from the bloc.

David Davis wrote in the Sunday Times that May’s plans for some continued ties with the EU under her Chequers plan is “completely unacceptable” and must be stopped. The fellow Conservative Party member said the time has come for ministers to shoot down May’s plan.

“It is time for the cabinet to exert their collective authority,” he said. “This week the authority of our constitution is on the line.”

If Davis’ call for a rebellion is effective, the cabinet meeting Tuesday would be a likely place for opposition to surface.

Davis and former Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson resigned from the cabinet this summer to protest May’s Brexit blueprint. Both have become vocal opponents of her plan, calling it a betrayal of the Brexit vote that would leave Britain in a weakened position.

Britain will not stay “indefinitely” in a customs union with the European Union but the precise timing of a temporary customs arrangement with the bloc is up for debate, James Cleverly, deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, said on Sunday.

May

Right-wing march turns violent:

London police have made at least one arrest at as a march by a rightwing political group turned violent in the British capital.

Hundreds of supporters of the Democratic Football Lads Alliance were walking in central London on Saturday when a few started pushing the British police monitoring the march.

One person threatened a policeman and screamed, “I’ll kill you!”

Police were deployed at Trafalgar Square to keep the Football Lads from a group of counter-demonstrators, including some who shouted “Nazi scum, off our streets!”

The Football Lads website said the march was meant to protest Islamic extremists returning to England from Syria, migrants coming into Britain and what it called the mistreatment of UK veterans.

Police had imposed time limits on the march to reduce the potential for trouble.

Storm Callum kills 2 in UK:

Storm Callum is weakening after its gusty winds and strong rains killed two people and caused damages in some parts of Britain.

Officials say one man died Saturday after a landslide in western Wales while another was swept away by rough seas in Brighton on the southern coast of England.

At the height of the storm on Friday and Saturday, winds were over 70 mph (113 kph). Some rivers overflowed, flooding homes and leading to a cut in power supplies. Wales was the hardest hit region and officials warned people to stay away from flooded areas.

Forecasters said there would still be some rain Sunday but that the areas heaviest hit by the storm should brighten throughout the day.

Brit mountain biker shot dead:

A 34-year-old British restaurant owner riding a mountain bike was shot dead by a hunter as he sped down a wooded track in the French Alps, officials said Sunday.

The victim, whose name was not released, had been living for several years in the small town of Les Gets and was shot Saturday evening as a hunting party beat its way through nearby woods near Montriond, according to the local prosecutor.

The victim was “perfectly identifiable” and was on a well-used but hard to access mountain track when he was shot by a 22-year-old hunter who was taken to hospital in shock.

An enquiry has been launched for “aggravated manslaughter”, the prosecutor said.