Boris Johnson: EU gives fresh Brexit ultimatum as Supreme Court told 'mother of parliaments shut down by father of lies'

An area of the Palace of Westminster - providing access to the underground - has been closed to pass holders due to debris, and not for the first time. 

Last year, the former House of Commons leader Andrea Leadsom said people were at "real risk" of being hit by falling masonry after a chunk of stone fell from a statue on the parliamentary estate.

EU leaders have given Boris Johnson an ultimatum to come up with a new Brexit plan by the end of September, or face up to a no-deal.

The deadline, agreed at a meeting in Paris on Wednesday evening, comes as the bloc's chief negotiator Michel Barnier told Mr Johnson to stop "pretending" to negotiate.

EU officials are concerned that the prime minister is wasting their time and playing out talks for as long as possible without presenting proposals - possibly with an eye on an upcoming election.

The DUP's leader Arlene Foster has said she wants a "sensible" Brexit deal that works for people in Northern Ireland and in the Republic.

Speaking ahead of her appearance at the Dublin Chamber of Commerce where she will give an address, Mrs Foster said her party wants a deal that works for the UK constitutional position.

"That's very important and one I hope that the European Union will respect," she added. "We are in ongoing talks with our own government, our own government is negotiating with the Europeans, obviously that is the proper fashion and that should be the way it happens and we'll continue to talk.

"I think it's important there's an understanding of our position as there is an understanding of the nationalist position as well."

Labour Friends of Israel has scrapped plans to host a stand at the party’s conference this weekend, because of antisemitic abuse from delegates.

The organisation usually promotes itself at the annual gathering, but is afraid to put its staff in the firing line of hostility from some of the thousands of people who attend.

In a statement, Labour Friends of Israel (LFI) criticised “the failure of Jeremy Corbyn to do anything” to curb “the ongoing abuse of Jewish party members”.

“Our staff have faced incidents of antisemitism in previous years and, given that the situation appears to have further deteriorated, we do not feel it is responsible as an employer to put them in this environment,” it said.

"The character in the political soap opera called Boris is not well-suited to serious story lines, and the uncomfortable intrusion of reality upon his Wodehousian world," writes the Indy's Sean O'Grady

Boris Johnson spoke to European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker today today, Downing Street has said.

The pair "discussed the positive and constructive conversation they had in Luxembourg on Monday and their shared determination to reach a deal", according to a statement just issued by Number 10.

The prime minister also spoke to European parliament president David Sassoli, Cypriot president Nicos Anastasiades, and Latvian PM Arturs Karins.

Downing Street said he updated them on the progress of Brexit talks and reiterated his desire to secure a withdrawal deal.

"He spoke about the work that was under way to find an alternative to the backstop that protects both the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement and the integrity of the single market," the statement added.