Rolling coverage of the day´s political developments as they happen, including Theresa May and Jeremy Corbyn at PMQs and the opening of the EU summit in BrusselsPMQs - Snap verdictPMQs - Verdict from Twitter commentariatLunchtime description 2.40pm BST Jeremy´s view is that the issue of Brexit and the issue of bullying, harassment and abuse in parliament, or any work place, are entirely separate, and shouldn´t be confused in any way.Universal credit, the government´s flagship social security programme, has been beset with flaws in its design and delivery. It´s causing immense hardship for many people wherever it is rolled out. It is hard to believe now but UC was designed to lift people out of poverty and smooth the transition into work to ensure that it always pays. The reality is that UC is a vehicle for cuts. 2.08pm BST 2.05pm BST Angela Merkel has admitted for the first time that the German government is making contingency plans for a no-deal Brexit.The German chancellor said that her government had started to make `suitable preparations` for the possibility of Britain and the EU failing to reach a final agreement. 1.46pm BST Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, addressed the German parliament today about Brexit. Here are the key points she made.In one central question, the question of the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, there is as yet unfortunately no breakthrough. We´re not just talking here about the integrity of the single market, but the preservation of the Good Friday agreement which ended violence on the island 20 years ago. Everyone who´s ever been involved in international negotiations knows that the most difficult part comes towards the end and the devil here lies very much in the detail, and that´s why we´re now down to talking about our principles, and the joint position of the 27, to work on a convincing solution for both sides. 1.24pm BST This morning Jon Thompson, the head of HM Revenue and Customs, told MPs that he did not kno ...
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