From the BBC live feed 8:24 this morning:
Senior Tories urge Johnson not to ‘buckle’ to EU
Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Tory MP David Jones says Boris Johnson “must not buckle” and should be prepared to take negotiations right up to the legal deadline on 31 December.
The PM “must keep faith with the British people and resist any temptation to accept a sub-optimal deal that would cheat them of the sovereignty for which they voted”, Jones wrote in an opinion article.
Statement from ERG three minutes ago: The deputy chairman of the European Research Group added: “He should by all means negotiate, if necessary, until the stroke of 11 o’clock on New Year’s Eve; but if the EU still refuses a deal that fully respects our hard-won independence, he should leave the table in the knowledge that he has the full support of his countrymen and women.”
Meanwhile, Conservative former minister Sir John Redwood accused the bloc of making “empty threats”, writing in a tweet: “End the talks. The EU wants to stop us being independent. They cannot stop our trade. People and businesses buy and sell under WTO rules.”