
Brexit has “raised tensions” on the island of Ireland and “complicated” progress towards a lasting peace, one of the authors of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) has told MPs. The former premier of the Republic of Ireland, Bertie Ahern, said people were worried that a no-deal UK withdrawal from the EU would be the start of a “slippery slope” to a hard border, with checkpoints and troops.

Gibraltar has intensified its contact on Brexit with senior United Kingdom parliamentarians both in the House of Commons and the House of Lords in order to put across the position of Gibraltar. The Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia took advantage of their visit to London last week to meet opinion-formers on the Remain and the Leave sides of the argument.

A UK parliamentary committee has called on the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to address concerns about the organization's standard for sustainable fishing in the world's oceans. The House of Commons' Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) issued recommendations following its Sustainable Seas inquiry, whose findings were published last November.

The whole world wants the UK to avoid a no-deal Brexit, Japan's PM has claimed, after talks with Theresa May. Shinzo Abe pledged total support for the withdrawal agreement she has negotiated with the EU, which faces a crunch vote in the Commons on Tuesday.

Rebel Conservative MPs joined forces on Wednesday with Labour to inflict a fresh blow on Theresa May's government in a Commons Brexit vote. It means the government will have to come up with revised plans within three days if Mrs May's EU withdrawal deal is rejected by MPs next week.

Parliament must be given a veto over any trade deals the UK signs after Brexit, a committee of MPs has urged. Ministers hope to begin negotiating deals with key partners once the UK leaves the EU in March and start implementing them from 2021 onwards.

Vladimir Putin has urged Theresa May not to succumb to calls for a second referendum on Brexit. Speaking at his annual question and answer session with journalists, the Russian president questioned whether re-running a vote could be construed as democratic.

The leader of Britain’s main opposition Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, said he was calling for a no-confidence vote in Prime Minister Theresa May — a largely symbolic gesture — for not putting her Brexit plan to a vote by lawmakers immediately.

European Union leaders have said the Brexit withdrawal agreement is “not open for renegotiation”, despite appeals from Theresa May. She wanted legal assurances on the Irish backstop to help her deal get through Parliament after she delayed a Commons vote in anticipation of defeat.

Brexit's economic effects will be the focus of a Commons debate later, as government whips work behind the scenes to gain support for Theresa May's deal. Ministers will say it creates a unique partnership with the EU, while Labour argues it will make people poorer.