London, July 8 (IANS) Critics of a so-called soft Brexit have given their reactions to British Prime Minister Theresa May's proposals for a future trade deal with the European Union after Britain leaves the bloc next year.
May's senior ministers, summoned to her country retreat at Chequers, all backed the soft-Brexit plan she aims to send to Brussels for EU approval. Brexit-supporting Conservative MPs were quick to voice their concerns on Saturday, Xinhua news agency reported.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, who is leader of the influential European Research Group of pro-Brexit Conservatives, told the BBC early morning Today programme: "It is possible that this deal is worse than a no deal Brexit."
Rees-Mogg, once spoken of as a successor to May as Prime Minister, said he was waiting to see the full details of the proposals, adding: "If it turns out that it is a punishment Brexit, that it is keeping us in the European Union in all but name, I will stick to the Conservative party's manifesto commitments and will not vote for it."
Media reports on Saturday said May had told her cabinet ministers they were now have to adhere to the convention of cabinet responsibility. This would prevent any of them from speaking against the proposals agreed at her Chequers meeting.
It was also seen, according to the media, as a stark warning to Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson that he would lose his job is he makes any outspoken comments.
John Longworth, one-time director general of the British Chambers of Commerce and co-chairman of the pro-Brexit group Leave Means Leave, pulled no punches with his message, saying: "Those who campaigned for Leave but have not resigned will see their reputations in tatters."
Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Longworth accused May of totally misleading the 17.4 million British people who voted leave, "and left it as late as possible to reveal that she remains a stubborn Remainer".
"We are faced with becoming a vassal state of the EU, they have us exactly where they want us - unable to compete, taking enormous quantities of their products at inflated prices, protected from global competition by the fortress Europe tariff and regulatory wall and impeded from doing trade deals around the globe," added Longworth.
Elsewhere there was a sigh of relief that the government finally had a proposed deal to present to Brussels.
Conservative MP Andrea Leadsom, who is Leader of the House of Commons, said on her social media site: "As a passionate Brexiteer with huge optimism about future as a free trading nation, I agree with the PM (May) that keeping the UK together is vital. Alignment on goods, with Parliament sovereign on each decision, free to trade, no more vast payments, ending free movement - good for UK."
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UN to hold high-level debate on children protection in armed conflict
United Nations, July 8 (IANS) The UN Security Council will hold a high-level open debate on children and armed conflict with the theme "Protecting Children Today Prevents Conflict Tomorrow" on Monday, aiming to bring world attention to the protection of children in armed conflict.
Diplomatic sources said on Saturday that the meeting will be chaired by Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven. UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba will present the secretary-general's annual report on children and armed conflict, Xinhua reported.<br> <br>Other speakers include the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef) Henrietta Fore, and Yenny Londono, a civil society representative from Colombia.<br> <br>The Council is expected to adopt a resolution during the meeting, informed sources said.<br> <br>There were at least 21,000 grave violations of children's rights verified by the UN last year (6,000 by government forces and 15,000 by non-state armed groups), a 27 per cent increase over 2016, according to the Security Council Report, Inc. whose mission is to advance the transparency and effectiveness of the Security Council.<br> <br>Increasing violations are largely attributed to "the changing nature of conflict and the deterioration in a number of situations," the SCR said in a report.<br> <br>Among the trends that Gamba may highlight are "the denial of humanitarian access as a weapon of war and increased attacks on schools and hospitals," according to the SCR.<br> <br>Sweden, the chair of the Security Council Working Group on Children and Armed Conflict, circulated a concept note on June 21, which highlights three key areas: protecting children and upholding their rights; successful reintegration of former child soldiers; and peace processes as an entry point for protecting children.<br> <br>Londono, who was forcibly recruited by the FARC-EP (the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, a guerrilla movement involved in the continuing Colombian armed conflict from 1964 to 2017) when she was 13, is expected to speak about the special needs of children who have been forcibly recruited. She was involved in the peace negotiations between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP and may provide insights on how to better integrate children's needs in peace processes.<br> <br>Sweden had been keen to have a resolution which would build on the approach of last year's presidential statement, which addressed the connection between conflict prevention and the protection of children.<br> <br>While a more focused resolution was originally considered, ultimately it was decided that a more comprehensive resolution would send a strong signal of the Council's commitment to the children and armed conflict agenda, according to the SCR.
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