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Brexit live blog: Prime Minister Theresa May defies rebels, saying she will carry on in ‘national interest’

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Welcome to City A.M.’s live blog – we’re keeping an eye on the breaking Brexit News today. Refresh the page occasionally for updates.

10:29pm – City A.M.: May’s ‘Not out’

Things have stayed quiet for some time now, and despite the occasional rumble, it looks like we’ll have to wait until tomorrow to hear more.

Looking beyond the politics, there has been a huge business impact today: the pound experienced a massive fall, wiping some £6bn off three banks. All the key Brexit and business news will be, as ever, in tomorrow’s City A.M.

9:02pm – Times says Gove has rejected offer of Brexit secretary role

The Times’s Sam Coates says Michael Gove, the environment secretary, has rejected May’s offer of the Brexit secretary role, following rumours earlier today. Gove has been a key ally of May recently, standing by her deal while many other ardent Brexiters backed away. His reticence now may signal a shift.

8:13pm – May prepares for LBC interview as she continues pro-deal push

Theresa May will do an interview at 8am tomorrow with LBC’s Nick Ferrari – planning a full half an hour of questions.

7:30pm

The Sun’s Tom Newton Dunn says Gove and Mordaunt are (probably) not planning any big moves tonight.

7:10pm – Corbyn offers hint he may back second referendum

Today has been mainly focused on the Conservatives, but this is quite significant from Labour’s Jeremy Corbyn, who has said campaigning for a second vote might be on the table if there is no General Election:

Separately, Defence secretary Penny Mordaunt left Number 10 a few minutes ago. There have been widespread reports she has been pushing May to waive collective responsibility for a vote on the PM’s deal. The Telegraph’s Christopher Hope thinks she has not resigned:

6:42pm

City A.M.’s Head of Politics, Owen Bennett, has updated his take on events.

https://twitter.com/owenjbennett/status/1063138359189618688

6:00pm – Rumours swirl around Gove’s future

Just in case you were starting to relax, the Times’s Sam Coates says a Gove resignation is now expected. Given the vote of confidence May just put into the minister – a top Brexiter – this would be a serious blow.

 https://twitter.com/SamCoatesTimes/status/1063128398694961152

And there’s this, from HuffPo’s Paul Waugh:

Also, the latest update on George Parker, the journalist May desperately wanted to call:

5:48pm – May finishes speech, defying Tory rebels

And we’re done. May defiant, despite the day’s events – we’ll now have to wait and see how her party reacts. Stay tuned.

https://twitter.com/owenjbennett/status/1063121872454385664

5:46pm

May has drawn laughs by twice wrongly identifying journalists at the event as the FT’s George Parker. The Huffington Post’s Paul Waugh, the second victim of misidentification, quipped that there are lots of bald journalists.

5:44pm

May’s being grilled on a range of topics, and strongly criticised, but the topline from this is, to use her own words from after the General Election last year: “Nothing has changed”.

5:42pm

The PM says she has not appointed a new Brexit secretary to replace Dominic Raab, playing down rumours that Michael Gove was being lined up for the role and praising the Defra secretary’s work on fisheries. She says she’ll make appointments in due course.

5:39pm

May says she does not think Brexit will tear the Conservative Party apart, saying MPs will “recognise the importance of delivering the vote of the British people”. Worth seeing this, from Bloomberg’s Kitty Donaldson:

5:35pm

May has promised to fight on, saying she will bring back a deal that delivers on what people voted for. So far, no change on what she been saying over the past few days.

5:30pm

The BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg asks if it is the case that May is “in office, but not in power”. May says “I’m going to be doing my job” to secure a deal in “national interest”.

5:28pm – May’s speech begins

Theresa May has finally begun her statement, defending her deal and saying: “this is a Brexit that delivers on the priorities of the British people.”

5:25pm

As we continue to wait for May, a reminder of what today’s events have done to the pound…

5:10pm

We’re still waiting for May to begin her statement, which was due to start 10 minutes ago. Here’s the BBC’s Iain Watson, saying May will come out fighting:

4:55pm: Sky data poll suggest public supports cancelling Brexit

As we await May’s speech, Sky Data has released the results of a public poll, which shows of the three options the PM has said are available (her deal, hard Brexit, or no Brexit), 54 per cent of the public support no Brexit, with around a third backing a no-deal hard Brexit. 44 per cent said they would support calling a referendum on the issue. Despite the lack of support for May’s plan, she had 31 per cent support to lead the country through Brexit – better than Corbyn or her Tory rivals.

Carwyn Jones, the first minister of Wales, has released a joint statement with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, demanding the government seek more input from the devolved administrations.

3:49pm: Prime Minister announces 5pm press conference as no confidence letters mount

Prime Minister Theresa May will convene a press conference at 5pm outside Downing Street hours after debating her Brexit deal in parliament this morning.

In those intervening hours the leader has witnessed a rush of resignations following the departure of former Brexit secretary Dominic Raab and work and pensions secretary Esther Mcvey this morning.

No confidence letters have also been piling up after Jacob Rees-Mogg submitted his own earlier today, saying: "What has been achieved today is not Brexit. It is impossible to agree to a situation where we have a perpetual customs union."

The Prime Minister would face a vote on her leadership if 48 no confidence letters are received.

A total 158 Tory MPs – of 315 in total – would have to vote against May for her to stand down as leader.

3:01pm: Tory resigns over Brexit as another submits a no confidence letter

Rehman Chishti, a vice-chairman of the Conservative Party, has resigned, accusing the Prime Minister of signing the UK up to a "hybrid membership" of the EU's customs union and Single Market, while handing the EU a veto to prevent the UK ever leaving.

Chishti also said his decision was influenced over the government's failure to offer sanctuary to Asia Bibi, a Christian woman acquitted of blasphemy in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Tory Sheryll Murray – whose Twitter profile is a picture of her with the Prime Minister – said she has lost confidence in the party leader's Brexit policy, and has submitted a no confidence letter to the chairman of the 1922 Committee.

Murray cited the £39bn the UK is paying the EU, adding that "it is not clear when we will leave this withdrawal agreement, whether it will be extended or whether we end up in [the so-called] backstop."

1:45pm: Raab says UK could 'walk away' from EU deal

Speaking to Sky News, Dominic Raab, who resigned as Brexit secretary this morning, said that the UK should prioritise a no-deal Brexit over a disadvantageous deal with the EU.

"We can do a deal with the EU, at the same time we have to show the resolve to walk away," he said.

He said business fears about no-deal's potential impact on the economy would only be temporary.

"That will cause some short term disruption," he said of a no-deal scenario. "The worst of all worlds would be to accept a deal that does serious long term damage to our economy."

1:20pm: Jacob Rees-Mogg submits no confidence letter against PM

"What has been achieved today is not Brexit," Mogg told reporters this afternoon. "It is impossible to agree to a situation where we have a perpetual customs union."

In his letter, he writes: "It is … harder to leave this backstop than it is to leave the EU."

Read our story here.

12:54pm: Will there be a no-confidence vote?

Whips are reportedly asking MP which way they would vote if a no-confidence motion goes ahead, according to The Sun's Westminster correspondent Harry Cole.

He added that Jacob Rees-Mogg has submitted his no-confidence letter, which could trigger a vote this afternoon.

12:44pm: Sixth MP resigns government post over May's Brexit deal

Ranil Jayawardena, MP for north east Hampshire, has resigned his post as parliamentary private secretary at the Justice department.

In his letter to May he said: "I cannot agree, in the cold light of day, that the deal in front of us today is right for our country. It does not deliver a good and fair Brexit."

He is the sixth MP to resign.

Work and pensions minister Esther McVey jumped ship shortly after Brexit secretary Dominic Raab resigned before 10am this morning.

Junior Northern Ireland minister, Shailesh Vara, junior Brexit minister Suella Braverman, and parliamentary private secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan also stepped down.

Another Northern Ireland minister, Shailesh Vara, quit this morning.

12:26pm: Michael Gove 'lined up as next Brexit secretary'

Michael Gove, one of the biggest voices in the Leave campaign, might be offered the Brexit job, according to the Telegraph.

The environment secretary could replace Dominic Raab, who quit this morning over Theresa May's Brexit deal.

He was soon joined by other ministers including work and pensions secretary Esther McVey.

Gove reportedly supported May's Brexit strategy in a five-hour cabinet meeting last night.

11:45am: Mogg threatens to start vote of no-confidence in May

ERG chief and Brexiter Jacob Rees-Mogg asks May why he shouldn't write a letter of no confidence in her as Tory leader, leading Anna Soubry to call him a "disgrace".

May continues to defend her deal, reiterating that the UK will be leaving the EU at the end of March 2019 – despite the UK not being able to pull out unilaterally of the temporary customs union arrangement with the EU.

So far only Nicky Morgan, Amber Rudd and Nicholas Soames have said they will vote for the deal.

May added that the UK will keep preparing for a no-deal Brexit.

“We have been preparing for no-deal and we continue to prepare for no-deal because I recognise that we have a further stage of negotiation with the European council and then that deal when finalised … has to come back to this House,” she said.

11:12am: Banks and housebuilders suffer from Brexit fallout

Major banks and housebuilders took the brunt of the Brexit deal fallout this morning, with shares in Barratt Developments and Persimmon both down more than seven per cent.

They were the biggest fallers on the FTSE 100 as ministers quit the cabinet after May won support for her withdrawal agreement last night.

But a sell-off of sterling, which saw its value fall as low as 1.276 against the dollar before climbing back to 1.28, didn't hurt the FTSE 100, which gained points to hit 7,078 as companies benefited from a weaker currency.

Shares in retail banks also suffered – Lloyds fell 5.4 per cent, Barclays slumped 5.2 per cent and RBS slid six per cent.

10:43am: Theresa May updates parliament on Brexit

As Theresa May defends her deal in front of the House of Commons, cabinet ministers Liz Truss, Michael Gove and David Mundell are all absent.

https://twitter.com/owenjbennett/status/1063017359328378881

May says Northern Ireland businesses will still be able to access UK markets.

"It is a draft treaty that means that we will leave the EU in a smooth and orderly way on 30 March 2019," May tells MPs.

"It takes back control of our borders, laws and money, it protects jobs, security and the integrity of the UK. We were told that we had a binary choice between the model of Norway and the model of Canada. But this is a better arrangement for our country than both of those."

"The British people want us to get this done and get on with the other issues they care about, she adds.

So far here are the resignations:

Work and pensions minister Esther McVey jumped ship shortly after Brexit secretary Dominic Raab resigned.

Junior Northern Ireland minister, Shailesh Vara, junior Brexit minister Suella Braverman, and parliamentary private secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan also stepped down.

Another Northern Ireland minister, Shailesh Vara, quit this morning.

10:19am: DexEU minister and DoE secretary resign

Suella Braverman, a minister under Raab in the Department for Exiting the European Union, has resigned.

Anne-Marie Trevelyan, a PPS for the Department of Education, has also quit.

Sterling fell lower to 1.279 against the dollar. 

David Madden, an analyst at CMC Markets, said that sterling's sell-off is actually helping out the FTSE 100, which benefits from lower currency valuations when counting foreign sales.

"The major decline in sterling is cushioning the move in the FTSE 100 – which is slightly higher," he said. "British banks and homebuilders are under pressure as traders are fearful about the UK’s political future."

9.55am: McVey resigns

The Work and Pensions minister Esther McVey has resigned, calling Theresa May's Brexit agreement a "threat" to the union.

Dominic Raab has also resigned as Brexit secretary over May’s draft Brexit agreement.

Raab said: “I cannot support an indefinite backstop arrangement, where the EU holds a veto over our ability to exit.”

That has knocked the pound to its lowest level since the end of October, at 1.279 against the dollar.

Meanwhile Shailesh Vara, a minister for Northern Ireland, informed Downing Street of his resignation this morning, saying the deal leaves the UK “in a half-way house with no time limit” on when it can fully leave the EU.

But the EU is pressing ahead with the draft agreement – European Council president Donald Tusk has scheduled an emergency Brexit summit for 25 November, when the 27 other EU member states will vote on the deal.

That comes ahead of May facing MPs in the House of Commons at 10.30am to discuss the deal.

However, while the Prime Minister has suffered political fallout since winning support for the agreement last night from her cabinet, the City has broadly backed her deal as an alternative to falling out of the EU without a deal.

Stick with us as we bring you live updates throughout the day with the latest developments on the UK’s departure from the EU.

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