Brexit LIVE: Want you back! SNP boost as EU supports independent Scotland joining bloc

First Minister Ms Sturgeon and her ruling Government have continued to campaign for a second referendum on Scottish independence – nearly seven years after the country voted against it – and said Scotland would look to rejoin the EU if successful in a new vote. The SNP leader has tried to use Brexit as a mandate to force another referendum, arguing the UK’s departure from the EU was completed against the will of the Scottish people, who voted by a margin of 62 percent to 38 percent it in 2016. Boris Johnson has refused to cave to those demands, insisting the first referendum from June 2016 was a “once in a generation event”.

But Brexit vote anniversary polling has revealed some of the EU’s most influential member states would be in favour of an independent Scotland rejoining the bloc.

Support for this is high, with the majority of people in Germany, Spain and Italy supporting the move, with percentages of 51, 56 and 54 percent retrospectively.

But in France, a lower proportion of people are in favour of an independent Scotland rejoining the bloc, with this figure falling to just 44 percent.

Elsewhere, the Brexit poll revealed EU nations are divided on whether the UK can return to the bloc in what is a hammer blow to Remainers.

This found less than 50 percent of France, Germany, Spain and Italy showed clear support for the UK returning to the EU.

In France, just over two thirds (36 percent) would want the UK to rejoin the bloc, while 18 percent are against it, 34 percent said neither support or oppose and 12 percent didn’t know.

In Germany, support for the UK’s return to the EU is slightly higher at 40 percent while 19 percent said no, 30 percent said neither support or oppose and 11 percent were undecided.

However in Spain, 16 percent said they opposed the UK rejoining the bloc, 31 percent said neither and 7 percent didn’t know.

READ MORE: Unbelievable! Labour tells Boris to follow BARNIER’s Brexit advice

Meanwhile in Italy, 14 percent opposed the move, 34 percent said neither support or oppose and eight percent were undecided.

The survey of 1,500 people in each of the four countries — France, Germany, Italy and Spain was undertaken by Redfield & Wilton Strategies on June 7 and 8.

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11pm update: ‘One of greatest days in our history!’ Huge support for Brexit holiday to mark vote – poll

The Brexit referendum should be marked with a national holiday to mark the UK’s newfound independence, a poll has found.

With the UK now five years down the line from the referendum, Nigel Farage called on the Government to mark June 23 with celebrations. 

Amid calls to mark the UK’s independence, Express.co.uk asked in an exclusive poll: “Should June 23 be a national holiday to celebrate referendum anniversary?” 

Commenting on the poll of 4,159 people, 84 percent (3,487) claimed there should be a national holiday to celebrate the referendum.

10pm update: Dylan Donnelly takes over reporting from Paul Withers

7.20pm update: ‘How tough did she REALLY want to be?’ Frost attacks Theresa May’s ‘weak’ Brexit strategy

Lord Frost ripped apart Theresa May’s failure in EU negotiations last night as he reflected on five years since the Brexit referendum.

The minister and former chief negotiator spoke openly about the problems he faced when he first went to Brussels to re-open talks on the withdrawal agreement.

Giving his candid insights to the UK in a Changing Europe think tank, Lord Frost said he struggled to convince Brussels they were no longer dealing with the old regime.

Laying blame at the hands of Mrs May for her failed negotiating strategy when she was in No10, he said eurocrats saw Britain as “weak”.

He said: “There was an assumption that we were the weaker party and would have to accept certain things if we wanted an agreement.

“It felt like there was an assumption that we would wish to be closely aligned and would make certain sacrifices to achieve that.

“I think it took time for them to realise that wasn’t the case.

“We still had times that the negotiations where we had propositions of policies attributed to us that weren’t actually our policies but were policies of the previous team.”

6.06pm update: And they lectured us on standards! EU set to lift ban on grim farming method – leaked memo

The European Union’s food standards are set to slump below Britain’s after it lifts a ban on farm feed made of animal remains in the hope of producing cheaper food.

As a result of the shift, cheap pig protein could be fed to chickens to ensure European farmers aren’t undercut by lower standards outside the bloc. The change is expected to come into force in August despite a last-ditch attempt by MEPs, led by the Greens, to scrap the policy.

An original ban on the practice was introduced during the BSE crisis but it will be lifted after plans were endorsed by all EU member states, except France and Ireland.

Using animal protein made from mammals in the feed of cattle and sheep was banned by the EU in 1994 at the height of the Made Cow Disease crisis.

The first reported case of the nightmare BSE disease was in 1986 in the UK.

It was spread widely by farmers feeding cattle with the meat and bone meal of dead and infected animals.

More than four million cattle were slaughter in the UK alone and 178 people died after contracting a human variant, known as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.

4.50pm update: ‘Monstrosity!’ Frexit fury as EU law bans French food labels: ‘Want us to eat s***!’

Emmanuel Macron’s government passed a new law in France according to food regulations imposed by the EU, that infuriated Frexiteers across the country.

The so-called Egalim 2 Law was passed by the French Parliament on Thursday after the first reading. The regulation seeks to no longer oblige to systematically mention the origin of the meat and dairy products used in prepared dishes.

The law would see the Origine France label scrapped from a lot of products on French supermarkets’ shelves.

The proposal, in line with EU Directives, was lambasted by Les Patriotes leader Florian Philippot.

He blasted: “Egalim Law 2: end of the ‘Origine France’ label on processed products!

“Why? Application of European law which prohibits such a label!

“The Council of State recalled this a few months ago.

“A scandal, a monstrosity.

“Frexit quickly!”

3.36pm update: Irish PM calls on UK to ‘engage in the process’ over the Protocol

Micheal Martin said during is last meeting with Boris Johnson, he had demonstrated a willingness to find solutions.

The Irish leader added: “There is a willingness to be pragmatic and flexible on this but the United Kingdom Government has to engage in the process.

“My last meeting with Boris Johnson, he was clear he would give this a very strong shot at trying to reach an agreement.

“I’m in no doubt the willingness is there on the EU side.

“The EU does need reciprocity, it needs the sense from the UK that it will follow through on its commitments that it’s signed up to, and that it will deliver on those commitments.”

3pm update: EU willing to ‘reach an accommodation’ on Protocol – Irish PM

Micheal Martin has said he has no doubt over the willingness from the EU to “reach an accommodation” over the Northern Ireland Protocol.

The Irish Prime Minister said: “A deal can be reached. It will take political will and commitment.

“I’m in absolutely no doubt about the commitment of the European Union as an institution, but also the members and the key members of the European Union, and their desire to reach an accommodation here in relation to the implementation of the Withdrawal Agreement and the Protocol.”

Paul Withers taking over live reporting from Steven Brown.

2pm update: Brexit Britain could enjoy ‘North Sea oil boom’ after ditching EU’s data protection laws

Brexit Britain could reap economic windfalls on a scale of North Sea oil in the Eighties if it manages to ditch the EU’s “overly-burdensome” data protection laws, a political commentator has claimed.

Many parliamentarians and politicians across the continent tried to ignore the democratic will of the people, as they attempted to overturn the result of the referendum completely or push for a “Brexit in name only”.

Others were accused of scaremongering and trying to “spook” the British public.

This week, the repeated assertions in Germany and from the European Commission that Brexit has not paid off particularly struck out.

As the head of Oxford-based think-tank Euro Intelligence Wolfgang Munchau penned, the case for Brexit was not an economic one but people voted Leave because they did not want to belong to the EU.

1.40pm update: German economy panic as Brexit slaps industry with crippling costs – supply chain squeezed

German trade chiefs are increasingly worried Brexit will be permanently costly for the EU’s biggest economy.

According to the German-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Brexit will have a profound impact on the German economy.

Ulrich Hoppe, head of the German-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry in London, told the German press agency DPA: “It is unclear when supply chains will operate as smoothly as before December 31, 2020, again.

“That is why many companies have invested in longer-term storage capacity, among other things.”

Mr Hoppe said the economy was, nonetheless, adapting to the new challenges.

He added: “But it will take longer than originally expected for the systems to run smoothly.”

12.15pm update: Boris fires back as Nicola Sturgeon blasts ‘damaging Brexit legacy’

Boris Johnson has fired back after Nicola Sturgeon blasted the “damaging Brexit legacy” and said all parts of the country have a “bright future outside of the EU”.

But after Ms Sturgeon blasted the “damaging Brexit legacy”, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has hit back and said the country will “maximise the opportunities of Brexit”.

A UK Government spokesperson said: “The UK Government has delivered Brexit, and now all parts of the UK have a bright future outside of the EU.

“We have established a new points-based system for immigration, overseen the fastest vaccine roll-out anywhere in Europe, and negotiated trade deals with the EU and 68 other countries – opening up fantastic new opportunities for Scottish businesses.

“As we build back better from the pandemic, and level up across the UK, we will seek to maximise the opportunities of Brexit and utilise our new freedoms.”

11.05am update: Switzerland deal here we come! UK tipped to copy ‘improved’ relationship with EU

Brexit could transform into something like Switzerland’s favourable deal with the EU, it has been claimed.

Switzerland was dealt a blow this week after the EU barred it from its Horizon Europe funding.

The planned scientific research initiative looks to help to raise science spending and subsequent research across the continent.

While Switzerland isn’t an EU member, its special relationship to the bloc has seen it welcomed by Brussels into such schemes.

The country, surrounded by EU member states, has grown close to the bloc through a series of bilateral treaties, simultaneously remaining independent of it.

10.40am update: France’s François Hollande pushed for serious Brexit revenge: ‘There must be a price!’

France’s former President François Hollande called for “firmness” from the EU during Brexit negotiations, as he insisted Britain had to pay a price for leaving the European bloc.

At the end of last month, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen warned the EU will not hesitate to use the “real teeth” in the Brexit deal to punish the UK Government for breaching its pact obligations.

Since the end of the transition period on January 1, the UK Government has been accused of breaching its commitments in Northern Ireland and on an agreement on fisheries.

However, Brexiteers believe it is all part of a worrying pattern.

Ever since Britain voted to leave the EU in 2016, Brexiteers have accused Brussels of wanting to harm the UK during the Brexit talks as a deterrent to other countries that might have been thinking of getting out.

Speaking at the Jacques Delors Institute in Paris in October, 2016, former French President François Hollande claimed that Britain had to pay a price for leaving the EU.

10am update: EU project destined to fail as ‘not even Germany and France want to push for fiscal union’

The EU project is destined to fail as not even Germany and France want to push for fiscal union, an Italian MEP has told Express.co.uk.

Amid the gloom of the coronavirus pandemic, some European enthusiasts have been wondering whether this crisis might finally lead to a “fiscal union” of states — something similar to the US.

The success of the bloc’s first social bond, issued to help fight off the recession, showed investors are eager to lend money to the EU as a whole.

At the same time Christine Lagarde, President of the European Central Bank, encouraged the bloc to consider turning the joint-debt instruments created during the pandemic into permanent tools.

This would move the EU a step closer to becoming a federation of states, since the European Commission would have a bigger budget to redistribute resources toward countries in need.

9.40am update: Brexiteer plot to topple Theresa May: Insider breaks cover to disclose leadership coup

Brexiteers pulled together a plot behind the scenes to oust then-Prime Minister Theresa May and a Conservative insider just revealed some crucial details behind the leadership coup.

Theresa May was voted into No.10 by the Conservatives after the EU referendum left her predecessor, David Cameron, feeling obliged to step down.

She had campaigned for Remain, but famously declared that “Brexit means Brexit” and triggered Article 50 in March 2017.

However, her confidence appeared misplaced when she called a snap election, only to weaken her own hand and be left with a hung Parliament and a reliance on Northern Ireland’s DUP.

8.45am update: Britain on course to strike truce with EU over bitter Brexit sausage war

Britain and the EU yesterday looked on course to strike a truce over the bitter Brexit sausage war.

Cabinet Minister George Eustice signalled that talks about extending a grace period that allows chilled meats to be shipped from mainland Britain to Northern Ireland were heading in the right direction.

He said: “I think we are getting some positive indications and it’s always our view that it’s better if we can reach agreement with the European Union on these things.

“It didn’t make any sense to simply say that there’s a ban on the sale of sausages to Northern Ireland.”

The Government and the EU have been locked in a dispute over the implementation of the Protocol – the part of the Brexit divorce deal aimed at avoiding a hard border with Ireland.

8am update: Leave campaigners ‘surprised by deterioration in relations between the EU and UK, says Lord Frost

The Government has admitted those who campaigned to leave the European Union are “surprised” with the deterioration in relations between the bloc and Britain.

Brexit minister, David Frost, said it is not “part of the plan to be bickering with the EU” and said he hopes it is not “part of their long term plan either”. His comments come amid the ongoing Northern Ireland ‘sausage war’.

Lord Frost told thinktank UK in a Changing Europe: “Until we have settled the Northern Ireland issue and put in place new balances, or the right balance, I think it’s going to be difficult to get relations on to the right footing that we want, but we absolutely do want that.

“I don’t think those who campaigned five years ago for Brexit drove the analysis, drove the politics of it.

“I think they are surprised, quite often, to find relations are in the state they’re in.”