The Daily Politics

Labour leadership challenger Owen Smith is asked how he is different from Angela Eagle.

He replies by saying that he wants more of an emphasis on fighting inequality, suggesting he would re-write Clause 4 of Labour's constitution to make this the party's defining mission and also says he would borrow billions to invest in the nation's infrastructure to finance an enormous "building programme".

But his main USP, he suggests, is that he believe the British people should have a second vote on the terms of British exit from the EU.

He suggests that the public were "sold a pup" by the Leave campaign, pointing to anecdotal and polling evidence that many people do not believe its promises on increased NHS spending and lower immigration numbers can be delivered.

The people, he says, deserve to pass judgement on the exact deal that is struck by Theresa May's government.

Image source, PA

The government's rail minister has resigned - just after telling MPs she did not believe quitting would help resolve problems with train services in South East England and London.

The Department for Transport confirmed Claire Perry had quit, but did not give reasons for her departure.

On Wednesday she said the chaos on Southern routes "feels like a failure".

It is not yet known who will replace Ms Perry, with new Prime Minister Theresa May currently in the process of appointing her new government.  

Read more here.

A 44-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of making threats to kill. 

Officers from Merseyside Police executed a warrant in Paisley, Scotland, this morning, Friday 15 July, and arrested the man. 

He will be questioned by Merseyside detectives today. 

The arrest comes after an email was sent to the account of Wallasey MP Angela Eagle. 

The Daily Politics

Owen Smith postponed his Labour leadership launch earlier because of the Nice attacks but has been speaking to the Daily Politics.

Asked why he had waited so long to declare his candidacy and only came forward almost a week after Angela Eagle, he says his brother has been seriously ill and he had to spend 29 hours in hospital with him during the past week.

He said he then received hundreds of calls from colleagues and activists urging him to consider throwing his hat into the ring and failed to get the assurances he was looking for in a series of conversations with Jeremy Corbyn.

It was then that he decided that others "with something to say" about Labour's future who were "brave enough" should come forward. 

Labour owes Angela Eagle a "huge debt of gratitude" he says but he suggests that he agrees with many Labour MP who believe that only one of them should go forward to challenge Mr Corbyn now that he has been officially confirmed on the ballot.

How could this happen, he is asked by Andrew Neil? He suggests that it should be up to the parliamentary Labour Party to decide or maybe up to the deputy leader Tom Watson to referee.

This is an amusing reminder that a lot of middle-ranking and junior ministerial posts have yet to be handed out and will be allocated over the coming days. 

The Daily Politics

Image source, AFP

A "small number" of British nationals have been injured in the attacks in Nice, Downing Street has said. 

The Foreign Office earlier referred to one Briton having been caught up in the lorry attack, in which 84 people are known to have died, but the figure is now thought to be slightly higher. 

Senior security officials have held a 45-minute meeting, chaired by the prime minister's Deputy Security Adviser Paddy McGuinness.

Representatives from the intelligence services were there, as well as the Met Police, the MoD, the Home Office, the Department for Transport, the Foreign Office plus staff from the British Embassy in Paris. Here are the other main lines from the meeting.

• Eight British consular staff travelled to the French city overnight and four more joined them this morning.
• British Ambassador Sir Julian King has now arrived in Nice.

• The UK's terror threat level remains at severe.
• Police are looking at the situation and reviewing security at big public events over the next week as a "prudent" response. 

UKIP MEP Bill Etheridge is to throw his hat into the ring to be the party's next leader. He joins other MEPs Jonathan Arnott and Steven Woolfe who have already declared their wish to succeed Nigel Farage. Mr Etheridge is MEP for the West Midlands and a local councillor in Dudley. 

The Scottish government says Theresa May's decision to make Edinburgh her first official port of call since becoming prime minister - she will hold talks with Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon later - is an "encouraging sign".

Finance and Constitution Minister Derek McKay said he hoped it was the start of a "constructive relationship based on mutual respect" rather than the Scottish government being "lectured at". 

He goes on to say that the UK's decision to leave the EU - which was opposed by the majority of people in Scotland - puts Scotland's "vital" commercial, employment, educational and cultural interests at risk and the Scottish government must be able to engage fully in the Brexit talks to protect its distinct links with Europe. 

We paraphrased it earlier but here is the full statement that Theresa May has just made in response to the Nice attack. 

"I am shocked and saddened by the horrifying attack in Nice last night. Our hearts go out to the French people, and to all those who have lost loved ones or been injured. While the full picture is still emerging, it seems that at least 80 people are feared dead and many others have been injured. 

These were innocent victims enjoying a national celebration with their friends and families. We are working urgently to establish whether any British nationals were caught up in the attack. 

Our Ambassador is travelling to Nice today with consular staff and they will be doing all they can to help anyone affected. I have asked my Deputy National Security Adviser to chair a COBR meeting of senior officials to review what we know and what we can do to help. 

And I will speak to President Hollande today and make clear that the United Kingdom stands shoulder to shoulder with France today as we have done so often in the past. If, as we fear, this was a terrorist attack then we must redouble our efforts to defeat these brutal murderers who want to destroy our way of life. 

We must work with France and our partners around the world to stand up for our values and for our freedom."

The Electoral Commission has dropped its legal action against the Conservative Party after the party voluntarily released information about its campaign spending during the last general election.

The elections watchdog applied to the High Court in February for an information and document disclosure in relation to an investigation into how Conservative spending returns - relating to accommodation costs of activists on its "battle bus" - were reported.

The Commission said that since it had done so, it had received sufficient material from the Conservatives to proceed with its investigation and, as a result, there would be no Court hearing. 

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Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

The UK has no trade negotiators to lead its EU exit talks, a former Cabinet minister says.Oliver Letwin, who was in charge of the government's "Brexit unit" until he was sacked on Thursday, told presenter Sarah Montague that any British negotiators were "working for the EU".He said his successor would have to hire a team to handle the talks.  

More from Theresa May on her reaction to the Nice attack. 

She says her thoughts are with the relatives of all the "innocent victims" of the "brutal" attack and the UK is trying to establish if any British nationals have been affected. 

It was an attack on "our values and freedoms", she adds, and the UK "stands shoulder to shoulder with France as we have done so often in the past".

She has asked her deputy national security adviser to chair a meeting of the Cobr crisis response committee and will speak to French President Francois Hollade later. 

Prime Minister Theresa May has said Britain must redouble its efforts to defeat "brutal" terrorist "murderers" after the "horrifying" attack in Nice, France, and has called a meeting of senior officials in the government's emergency Cobra committee.

Canada has been sharing details of its trade deal with the EU with the UK, the country's trade minister says.

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (Ceta) between the EU and Canada is not yet in force, although it has been in the making for seven years.

The Canadian model is one cited by new Brexit Minister David Davis as a possible blueprint for the UK's future relationship with the EU once it leaves.  

Canada's trade minister Chrystia Freeland, who is due to meet the UK's new International Trade Secretary Liam Fox later, said there had already been some "technical exchanges", with some "real details of exactly how Ceta works" shared with the UK.

She said it was a "great deal as trade deals go", but was a "significantly less close relationship" than EU membership.

For example, she said, it does not include the rights for financial firms to trade unhindered across the EU under rights known as "passporting".

It also has less "labour mobility" than EU membership, she said.