Donald Trump told Theresa May she should sue the EU rather than negotiate over Brexit, she has told the BBC.
The US president said on Friday at a joint news conference he had given Mrs May a suggestion – but she had found it too “brutal”.
Asked by the BBC’s Andrew Marr what he had said, she replied: “He told me I should sue the EU – not go into negotiations.”
It came as another government member resigned over her Brexit plans.
Robert Courts said he quit as a parliamentary private secretary – an unpaid ministerial aide – at the Foreign Office to “express discontent” with Mrs May’s policy before key Brexit votes on Monday.
“I had to think who I wanted to see in the mirror for the rest of my life,” he said in tweet.
He could not tell his constituents he supported Mrs May’s proposals “in their current form,” he added.
Mr Courts replaced David Cameron as the Conservative MP for Witney, Oxfordshire in 2016.
Defending her Brexit blueprint on the Andrew Marr show, the prime minister said it would allow the UK to strike trade deals with other nations, end free movement of people, and end the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.
A White Paper published on Thursday fleshed out details of her plan, which advocates close links with the EU on trade in goods, but not services.
Before the paper was published, Brexit Secretary David Davis and Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson resigned, along with several junior government figures, saying it would not deliver the Brexit people voted for in the 2016 referendum.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Mrs May laughed off the president’s legal action suggestion, but added: “Interestingly, what the president also said at that press conference was ‘don’t walk away’.
“Don’t walk away from those negotiations because then you’ll be stuck. So I want us to be able to sit down to negotiate the best deal for Britain.”
Donald Trump declined to spell out what his advice to Mrs May had been, in an interview with US TV network CBS, but added: “Maybe she’ll take it, it’s something she could do if she wanted to.
“But it was strong advice. And I think it probably would have worked.”
Ahead of his meeting with Mrs May, Mr Trump told the Sun newspaper her Brexit proposals would “probably kill” a trade deal with his country.
But hours later he said a US-UK trade deal would “absolutely be possible”.
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Leading Tory Brexiteer Jacob Rees-Mogg has called the White Paper a “bad deal for Britain”.
He told the BBC’s Sunday Politics: “The government unfortunately believes that Brexit is not a good thing in itself, it seems to think it has to be tempered by non-Brexit.”
He said Mrs May, who campaigned to keep Britain in the EU in the 2016 referendum, had failed to grasp the “enormously positive” opportunities offered.
He described her as a “Remainer who has remained a Remainer”.
He also said she would have to change her policy in order to get it through Parliament, without having to rely on Labour votes.
Mrs May urged Brexiteers in her own party to “keep their eye on the prize” of Brexit – and said her plan was the only workable way to deliver it.
‘Very difficult to bring an action’
Analysis by BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman
Frankly, it is difficult to see any grounds for the UK suing the EU.
Like any other member state, the UK can sue the EU in relation to any specific measure it has taken which breaches EU law.
Such action would be heard at the European Court of Justice, the ultimate arbiter of EU law.
An example would be if the UK was denied agricultural subsidies, or structural funds to which it was entitled under EU law.
The Conservative government of David Cameron successfully sued when the European Central Bank said it would only license financial institutions within the Eurozone as clearing houses for transactions in euros.
The UK and the EU have not reached a Brexit agreement yet, so there can be no action for breach of that agreement.
Parties to a negotiation are under what are known as “procedural duties” – for instance, to act in good faith.
But it is very difficult to bring an action, within a negotiation, on that basis. Some would say that even attempting to do so would seriously harm the negotiation.
Mrs May’s message comes ahead of crucial Commons votes on trade and customs policy in the coming week, with Tory Brexiteers tabling a series of amendments to the legislation.
Mr Rees-Mogg said he was not expecting either the Customs Bill or the Trade Bill to be voted down at this stage. There are also likely to be amendments tabled by Remain supporting MPs.
Mrs May told Andrew Marr: “Some people are saying they want to vote in the Trade Bill to keep us in the customs union. I say that’s not acceptable, that’s not what the British people voted for.
“Others are saying that perhaps we cannot have the bill at all. That would be damaging to our ‘no deal’ preparations.
“So let’s just keep our eyes on the prize here. The prize is delivering leaving the European Union in a way that’s in our national interest.”
Media playback is unsupported on your device
Mrs May insists her plans would allow the UK to strike its own trade deals, despite agreeing a “common rulebook” with the EU on cross-border trade.
She said such rules were needed to protect jobs in firms with supply chains that crossed borders and deal with the Irish border issue.
Labour Party chairman Ian Lavery said Mrs May’s “so-called plan” did not “stand up to scrutiny”.
“No-one – not the public, Parliament or the Conservative party – is happy with Theresa May’s offer. This has descended into a shambles,” he said.
Labour MP Ian Murray, a member of the People’s Vote campaign, said the British people needed a vote on the final deal.
Labour Deputy Leader Tom Watson said it was not the party’s policy to back another referendum – but said it should not be ruled out.
Dear Carolyn: I have been dating my boyfriend for about a year and a half. Things have been going well but recently he began expressing to me that he was uncomfortable about the fact that nine years ago, I used to date the brother of my now-brother-in-law (through my sister’s marriage). My boyfriend said he is uncomfortable being around him at family events. It was a serious relationship at the time – we lived together – but both of us have more than moved on since then and even hung out as friends on multiple occasions.
My sister’s husband comes from a pretty fractured family and his brother is really all he has. Also, my sister is very close with her brother-in-law.
My boyfriend has not had many relationships and I’m not sure he has had many encounters with exes. I would like to keep up our family traditions, such as Sunday family dinners, which the brother and his girlfriend of three or four years attend. He and his girlfriend don’t seem to mind about our past at all.
How do I handle this?
– M.
With a more mature boyfriend or a time machine.
You handle this by not budging, in the kindest and unbudgingest possible way.
Because you can’t budge – not without straining two families and setting a terrible precedent for ceding control of the guest list for your own life.
If nothing sketchy is going on between you and the ex, then the onus is on your boyfriend to accept that your ex has a valid place at your table – and if something sketchyis happening, then the onus is on him to break up with you, not assume control of the men you’re allowed to see.
Read more:
Family friend is shocked by woman’s film career
Envious of husband’s approaching retirement
Your boyfriend may well be new to this whole dating thing and its complexities, but that’s grounds for sympathy – not license to bust up Sunday dinner. He’s also not new to you or to this situation. What changed?
Whatever the reason: Let him know you understand it might be awkward for someone in his position, but, this is your family configuration. If he’s not comfortable with his relationship with you, then you and he need to deal with its issues on their own merits. If he is comfortable, then trusting that will help him get used to this little joke fate chose to play. As you all got used to it yourselves, remind him. Presumably there was an adjustment period at the time for everyone involved?
You adjusted, though, because it was a take-or-leave situation – accept it or excuse yourself from your family as you know it – and it is one now for your boyfriend, and will be for anyone you date as long as he is part of your sister’s life. Tell him so, take or leave, and that you’ll help him find ways to take it. Within those bounds, of course, of not budging an inch.
Dear Carolyn: I have a “friend” that will email and invite me to lunch and then add, “By the way I’m cycling for charity, please contribute,” and then she never follows through regarding the lunch. Once, we actually made a date for lunch and then she said, “I’ll call you that morning and let you know if it still works for me!” and I never heard from her the day we had scheduled the lunch. I asked her and her fiance to join my husband and me for dinner and she said, “Great idea! I’ll get back to you when things aren’t so hectic,” and 10 months went by without a word.
Although there was a time when this person and I were close and spent time together, obviously this is no longer a friendship, and I have decided not to accept this behavior from her again.
There is a strong possibility that I am going to run into her around town. What can I kindly say to let her know that I’m done with her without being snarky?
– K.
Why do you need to tell her anything? The friendship is over, there are no plans being made that you need to break, and if she ever invites you to something, then you already know she doesn’t mean it so it doesn’t matter whether you reply yes, no, maybe, or not at all.
The only thing left to do is to exist in this reality instead of the alternative one where you thought you might someday, eventually, have lunch.
If the opportunity arises naturally for you to say something, or if it’s important to you to tie off the ends, then by all means, say what has been on your mind: “You haven’t followed through on plans for X months/years, so I took that as a choice not to see me.” But that’s something you do for you, not to please her or abide by some unwritten rule.
Email Carolyn at tellme@washpost.com, follow her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/carolyn.hax or chat with her online at noon Eastern time each Friday at www.washingtonpost.com.
Read or Share this story: https://on.freep.com/2zGqbHd
Kerry is now on the lookout for a new man (Picture: Nusic London)
Kerry Katona has revealed that she would be up for going on Celebs Go Dating after her hectic schedule leaves it impossible to find love.
Speaking to Metro.co.uk at Kris James’ launch party, she said: ‘I’m single – been single for over a year now. I would definitely [do Celebs Go Dating], I don’t get out to meet anybody so it would be nice to find someone like that maybe.’
So what kind of man is she looking for? Well, after having a look around at the Director’s Lounge in London she laughed before she said: ‘Someone who’s willing to walk beside me.
‘Humour’s a massive thing, you’ve got to be able to make me laugh.’
Kerry says shed definitely be up for Celebs Go Dating (Picture: Nusic London)
‘Someone who’s gonna let me grow and not hold me back. Somebody who takes the rough with the smooth,’ she’s added.
Advertisement
Advertisement
‘And someone who’s fit as fuck,’ she giggled.
The star could be joining a host of reality stars trying their luck at the celebrity dating agency, and getting love advice from Lady Nadia Essex.
Only 24 hours his split from fiancée Caroline Flack, Andrew Brady admitted that he had been approached for the series as well.
Paul Danan – known as ‘dangerous Danan’ during his stint on Celebrity Love Island’ has also said he would be up for giving the show a go to see if the matchmakers can succeed where he hasn’t.
However, the upcoming series will be the first that won’t feature Eden Blackman, who revealed he quit the show shortly after the end of the last series.
Got a story?
If you’ve got a story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk Entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.
Dates in the future may not happen in coffee shops — instead, you might just sit in your living room with a virtual reality headset, according to a report from Imperial College London and eHarmony.
The report predicts how relationships will change over the next 25 years (and discusses how they have already changed in recent years) using eHarmony’s user data; historical accounts; and interviews with anthropology, technology, and biomedicine experts.
“People want to be matched — and ultimately form relationships with — like-minded people in the most efficient way possible,” eHarmony’s UK director Romain Betrand tells Business Insider. “What’s different is how people will go about it, redefined by advances in science and everyday consumer technology.”
Here’s how dating and relationships could look by 2040.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
Forget swiping right on Tinder — dates in VR could make things a whole lot easier.
In 2016, people have already popped the question in VR. By 2040, you may be able to hold someone’s hand before you actually ‘meet’ them IRL, according to the report.
With new VR technology, we might not only be able to see and hear other people, but touch and smell them too.
‘Nobody would be really too far away to have a relationship with,’ Betrand says. ‘It would be like your partner is in the room with you when you want them around.’
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
In the future, we may be able to physically see a person’s emotions, the report says.
New Deal Design, the designers behind Fitbit’s trackers, are working to create a ‘tattoo’ embedded under the skin that visualizes health and emotions.
When someone touches or feels something, the tattoo, called UnderSkin, will glow a personalised pattern. For example, when a person holds their partner’s hand, the tattoo may glow in the shape of a pentagon to express love.
The designers believe they could build UnderSkin by 2021.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
When we’re feeling introverted, we could one day turn to robots instead of humans.
Interacting with a robot, rather than a partner, could create less emotional pressure, says managing director of Silicon Valley Robotics Andrea Keay. By 2029, the report predicts we could have two soul mates: one human and one robot.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
We could eventually rely on big data to make better long-term relationship decisions, like who to date, when to get married, and how many children to have.
The report imagines that ‘telepathic computers’ could one day also predict a partner’s behaviour before it happens by studying blood flow patterns to the brain.
This information could help people decide whether they want to ditch or keep dating a person — essentially to see whether a partner ‘could actually change.’
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
Imagine a future where you could prevent awkward silences in every interaction or first date.
Based on past advances, researchers believe data processing will become even more efficient in the future. The report speculates that computers could eventually potentially feed conversation starters and live dating advice into our brains.
This real-time artificial intelligence would analyse video data at high speed, providing users with instant feedback about how their date is going.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
EHarmony, OkCupid, and Match.com all have their own algorithms based on personality traits and location.
In the future, the best way to find a match may be by DNA, says the eHarmony report.
In the past decade, the cost of DNA sequencing has fallen dramatically, allowing for more research on the role DNA plays in attraction. One 2014 study found that people may be more likely to choose mates with similar DNA profiles.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
In the future, people may not be limited to the singles in their city.
The report predicts that cities will eventually have high-speed ways to travel. For example, SpaceX is building a test track for the Hyperloop, which could theoretically travel at 500 mph. A competition to create the perfect transportation pod for the system is slated to happen next year.
If something like the high-speed Hyperloop takes off, an East Coaster could meet up for a date on the West Coast in about two hours.
‘Distance would cease to be an issue,’ Betrand says.
Mike Nudelman/Business Insider
Now imagine a future where you could relive every painful break-up in the form of video loops.
As we continue to sacrifice our privacy on Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat, the report speculates it could be normal to publicize even the most intimate moments.
By 2030, the researchers imagine a world where we record and share our break-ups as videos or another future platform.
NOW WATCH: Tech Insider videos
Want to read a more in-depth view on the trends influencing Australian business and the global economy? BI / Research is designed to help executives and industry leaders understand the major challenges and opportunities for industry, technology, strategy and the economy in the future. Sign up for free at research.businessinsider.com.au.
