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		</div><p>Hopes of compromise on the controversial Brexit backstop seem no nearer on the eve of a crucial set of votes in the Commons, with one senior Brussels official blasting the idea of concessions as “stupid”.</p>
<p>Leading UK Conservative Brexiteers indicated they may not support “alternative arrangements” to keep the border open, while the DUP – which props up Theresa May’s minority Government – called on the British Prime Minister to “face down the stubbornness of Dublin and Brussels”.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, British MPs heard warnings of the danger a no-deal Brexit would pose to the safety of the UK and to the security of its food supplies.</p>
<p>In a joint letter, leading UK retailers including Sainsbury’s, Asda and Waitrose warned that quitting the EU without a Withdrawal Agreement on March 29 would risk driving up food prices and cutting the range and quality of products on supermarket shelves.</p>
<p>Former MI5 chief Eliza Manningham-Buller warned that a no-deal Brexit should be “avoided at all costs”.</p>
<p>Declaring herself “queasy” at the enthusiasm of Russian President Vladimir Putin for Brexit, Ms Manningham-Buller said a range of security threats – from terrorism to Russian interference – were best dealt with “in a European context”.</p>
<p>“If we leave without a deal we are going to be less safe,” she told BBC Radio 4’s World At One.</p>
<p>MPs will vote on Tuesday on a range of amendments to Mrs May’s Brexit plans, including some which would block a no-deal departure and others which seek to salvage the Mrs May&#8217;s Withdrawal Agreement by changing the terms of the backstop to keep the Irish border open.</p>
<p>The amendments are not legally binding on the British PM, but majority support for any would place immense political pressure on Mrs May as she seeks a way ahead after the crushing defeat of her plan by 230 votes earlier this month.</p>
<p>Downing Street said Mrs May remains committed to quitting the EU on March 29 and will take her plan back to the Commons for a second “meaningful vote” as soon as possible after Tuesday’s debate, whether or not she secures more concessions from Brussels.</p>
<p>“The Prime Minister is absolutely committed to leaving the EU with a deal, but clearly if we are to obtain parliamentary support for that deal some changes are going to have to be made,” the PM’s spokesman said.</p>
<p>Mrs May spent Monday meeting Conservative MPs and MEPs, as backbenchers pressed for changes to the backstop.</p>
<p>Tory grandee Graham Brady said he hoped to secure Government backing for his amendment which demands the replacement of the backstop with “alternative arrangements to avoid a hard border”.</p>
<p><a href="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2.40880624.jpg"><img class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-124951" src="https://londonglossy.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2.40880624.jpg" alt="Theresa May, Brexit, EU, Referendum, Politics, " width="600" height="569" /></a></p>
<p>He said the proposal would give “enormous firepower” to the British PM when she returns to Brussels, by setting out clearly what the UK Parliament is ready to back.</p>
<p>Brexit figurehead Boris Johnson insisted he had heard from “senior sources” that Mrs May was planning to renegotiate the backstop and win a “freedom clause”.</p>
<p>But there were question marks over whether the Brady amendment would win the support of Tory Eurosceptic rebels in the European Research Group.</p>
<p>Senior Brexiteer Bernard Jenkin said he did not intend to back it, telling ITV News: <em>“It’s very vague and it’s deliberately vague because it’s meant to mean different things to different people.”</em></p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Exposure of the breathtaking hypocrisy of the EU Commission that also exposes there is no need at all for the Irish &#39;backstop&#39; in the UK&#39;s EU draft Withdrawal Agreement. The lack of accountability of the EU Commission is one of the reasons the UK voted LEAVE. <a href="https://twitter.com/BrexitCentral?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@BrexitCentral</a> <a href="https://t.co/xOFiMroKzC">https://t.co/xOFiMroKzC</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Bernard Jenkin (@bernardjenkin) <a href="https://twitter.com/bernardjenkin/status/1088428513059921920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 24, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith was reported to have called on Mrs May to table her own amendment, to provide greater “clarity and purpose”.</p>
<p>The DUP’s Sammy Wilson said Mrs May should “exploit the cracks which are emerging in the illogical position of the EU and the Irish”.</p>
<p>Mr Wilson said “chaos” in thinking about the backstop had been exposed by recent suggestions from Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that troops may have to be sent to the border in a no-deal scenario.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">ðSTATEMENT: It’s time to exploit ðªðº chaos and press for a better deal. <a href="https://t.co/YliHnILVqg">pic.twitter.com/YliHnILVqg</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Sammy Wilson MP (@eastantrimmp) <a href="https://twitter.com/eastantrimmp/status/1089899355346296832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>Insisting the UK must hold to the date of March 29 to maintain pressure on the EU and Ireland, Mr Wilson said: <em>“Now is the time for the Government to be tough and to face down the stubbornness of Dublin and Brussels.”</em></p>
<p>European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas told reporters in Brussels that the Withdrawal Agreement was “endorsed by leaders and is not open for renegotiation”.</p>
<p>Commission vice-president Jyrki Kateinen said it would be “a stupid thing” for the EU to make concessions putting the remaining 27 members at a disadvantage simply to secure a deal.</p>
<p>Mr Kateinen said there was “no reason to give any concessions” to the UK and there was “not much room for manoeuvre” on the backstop.</p>
<p>Chief EU negotiator Michel Barnier’s deputy Sabine Weyand said it was “quite a challenge” to see how a majority in support of a deal could be constructed in Westminster, warning there was a high risk of the UK crashing out by accident.</p>
<p>Ms Weyand told a Brussels conference that negotiation on the Withdrawal Agreement was “finished”.</p>
<p>Dismissing calls for changes to the backstop as “like Groundhog Day”, she insisted the EU27 were unanimous in opposing any time limit.</p>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">A ‘managed no deal’ cannot constitute the policy of any responsible Government, says Brexit Committee <a href="https://t.co/nXq0ruk4Hf">https://t.co/nXq0ruk4Hf</a></p>
<p>&mdash; Nick Boles (@NickBoles) <a href="https://twitter.com/NickBoles/status/1089908817306009600?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">January 28, 2019</a></p></blockquote>
<p><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p>
<p>There was no announcement from Labour over whether it will officially back a cross-party amendment put forward by the party’s Yvette Cooper and Conservative Nick Boles aimed at stopping a no-deal exit and delaying the date of Brexit until the end of the year.</p>
<p>Mr Boles told the Today program the plan has “a great deal of support among ministers and indeed Cabinet ministers” and they were pressing for a free vote.</p>
<p><em>“This is the last chance for Parliament, this is probably the only opportunity that Parliament is going to have to intervene in this process, to take control.”</em></p>
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