Tag: Robert Peston

Tusk says EU will only give the UK a short article 50 extension if MPs pass the Brexit deal. In the Commons Barclay says Labour has not said what length extension it wants. Streeting says the same cannot be said for Barclay, who urged MPs to back the government motion last week proposing an article 50 extension only to vote against it himself. (@Peston) Senior minister tells me PM is making statement to nation tonight. Hmmm In Brussels some EU officials are now saying that EU leaders will not even take a decision about extending article 50 tomorrow - because Theresa May sent her letter too late. (@DanielBoffey) Senior EU diplomats expect Donald Tusk when he speaks in 20 minutes to say that the late delivery of Theresa May's letter makes it impossible to make a decision tomorrow at the summit. (@nick_gutteridge) Senior EU diplomat: May's letter has arrived 'too late' for EU leaders to make a decision on an Article 50 extension at tomorrow's summit. “No decision will be taken by France before the European council,” a source in Macron’s office said. The French foreign minister has said categorically that Paris could say no to May’s request for an extension if the prime minister does not set out a clear plan for the withdrawal agreement to be ratified by parliament. Donald Tusk, the president of the European council, will make a statement about Brexit later, at 4pm UK time.

Inside the BBC’s Millbank Studios, just across the road from parliament, final dress rehearsals are taking place for the launch of Politics Live: the BBC’s attempt to answer the question of what a daily political television show should look like in the era of social media. Activists and journalists, who have been drafted in as pundits for the rehearsal, get stuck into passionate arguments that will never be broadcast. “It’s going to be more discursive and conversational,” she says in between rehearsals. “We are still going to scrutinise the politicians, but there are different ways of doing this.” Part of this is a recognition that there are now “more people and a more diverse range of people” interested in politics than before – even if they don’t care for the ups and downs at Westminster. Coburn, who will be hosting the lunchtime BBC2 programme four days a week, says this could mean that the show chooses to focus on policies that spark public debate rather than following every government announcement on issues such as Brexit: “Whether it’s animal rights or marijuana oil, these are things people feel they have got something to say about. Maybe we won’t relentlessly follow every incremental change in a way that we might have done.” The new show – a replacement for the longrunning Daily Politics, produced by most of the same staff – launches on Monday with guests including Amber Rudd and Emily Thornberry. Given television’s ageing demographic, that really means aiming to increase the number of people watching who are under the age of 65. With this in mind, films for the programme will be packaged for distribution on social media, making it partially a vehicle for creating online content. “Television news to me is feeling a little left behind … the way we present our product hasn’t been moving,” says Deborah Turness, the former ITV News boss now working to relaunch the satellite station Euronews for US media giant NBC. Back at the BBC studios, Burley says that while “previous iteration of the Daily Politics was very much of the traditional Westminster world”, the new programme will be looking to bring in guests from outside the traditional boundaries.