Image source, Reuters

Wednesday's front pages are coming in, so it is high time we had a recap of the day's events and what we have learnt.

• In what is being regarded as her most significant speech since becoming prime minister in July, Theresa May set out her hopes for Brexit talks and said "no deal is better than a bad deal".
• She said the UK cannot remain in the single market as that would be akin to not leaving the EU at all and suggested she wanted a bespoke customs agreement to replace existing customs union membership
• She also listed maintaining the common travel area between the UK and Irish Republic and "control" of migration between the UK and the EU among her 12 priorities for Brexit negotiations
• The speech was welcomed by Tory MPs but Labour called for more detail and the Lib Dems said the plan to give MPs a vote on the final deal, but not the public, would be a "theft of democracy"
• Nicola Sturgeon said plans to take the UK out of the single market brought a second Scottish independence vote "undoubtedly" closer.  
• Sinn Fein warned that leaving the customs union would reinstate a "hard border" between the north and south of Ireland
• The pound strengthens after Theresa May outlined her plans 
• Read Laura Kuenssberg's assessment
• Analysis: Where the UK is heading

BBC Monitoring
News from around the globe

Latvians and Lithuanians have expressed concern over possible restrictions on foreign migrants in the UK. 

It is important for Latvia that the status of its nationals who have been living in the UK and the accumulated social security rights and the right to health care would not change, Prime Minister Maris Kucinskis said, external.

Latvia's Education Ministry announced Minister Karlis Sadurskis will meet Latvians living in Britain to discuss the education of their children if they return to Latvia, the daily Vesti Segodnya reported, external.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Linas Linkevicius told reporters, external Lithuanian nationals who have lived in the UK for a long time won't feel any change but predicted that those who moved to the UK recently could face restrictions.

He said Mrs May's determination to start from scratch "is ambitious and complex, but we hope and want to preserve as much of what has been created as possible... It is good that there is more clarity now, because before there were more questions than answers." 

Business generally welcomes Theresa May's speech as providing clarity, but they still want more detail.

Theresa May has spoken to several European leaders following her Brexit speech, Downing Street says.

First up was European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, followed by EU Council President Donald Tusk.

According to Number 10: "President Juncker and president Tusk both welcomed the greater clarity in the UK's position and president Tusk said he looked forward to negotiating in a spirit of good will once the UK had triggered Article 50."

Mrs May also spoke to German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande, who welcomed her "commitment to the continuing strength of the EU", Downing Street added.

Theresa May sets out UK hopes for Brexit talks, warning that "no deal is better than a bad deal".

Nicola Sturgeon says Theresa May's plan to take the UK out of the EU's single market brings a second Scottish independence referendum "undoubtedly" closer.

Europeans see a "hard" UK Brexit looming - but welcome more British clarity on future EU ties.

Downing Street has refused to be drawn on its strategy for Brexit if Parliament rejected the final deal with the rest of the EU.

The prime minister's official spokeswoman described the potential of a 'no' vote as "hypothetical" and would not speculate on such a situation.

Theresa May revealed in her speech that the final deal will be put to a vote of MPs and peers, which the spokeswoman said was regarded as binding.

But she emphasised that "either way" Britain would be leaving the EU.

The spokeswoman said: "It will be a vote in parliament and then we will proceed on the basis of leaving the EU. We want that to be with a strategic new partnership with the European Union.

"I'm not going to get into a whole load of hypotheticals about a situation at the end of a negotiation that is likely to take two years when there is a lot more detail in there."

She added: "The point is now we have provided more clarity today and we are now focused on how do we get that right deal for Britain.

"Either way we will be leaving the EU."

BBC News Channel

Some interesting arguments just now from two Tory MPs on different sides of the EU referendum debate.

Anna Soubry, a passionate Remain campaigner, said she still strongly believed in the free movement of people and what Theresa May outlined earlier today was in effect "single market lite".

Peter Lilley, who campaigned for EU exit, said the length of time that it would take to complete negotiations would hinge on the EU's attitude towards trade and he urged the 27 other nations to give the UK an early steer on whether they supported a free trade arrangement or a tariff-based accord modelled on their existing agreements with the US, Japan and China.

He also said financial passporting rules were "useful but not essential" and the City of London would adapt if they were not carried over after Brexit. 

Reality Check

Prime Minister Theresa May announced on Tuesday that the UK would definitely not continue to be a full member of the customs union because that would prevent trade deals being negotiated with non-EU countries.

But she said that she did want to reach some sort of customs agreement with the EU.

"Whether that means we must reach a completely new customs agreement, become an associate member of the customs union in some way or remain a signatory to some elements of it, I hold no preconceived position," she said.

The EU customs union, external is a trade agreement between European countries that they will not impose tariffs (taxes on imports) on each other's goods and agree to impose common external tariffs on goods from other countries outside the customs union.

It means that once a product is inside the customs zone it can be transported without customs checks to any other country in the union.

Mrs May specified that there were two parts of the customs union that she could not accept. Read more

Alex Homer
BBC Local Live

Birmingham City Council wants to offload the £726,000 annual cost of its 11-strong team in charge of Brexit issues in the city.

Image source, Google

The authority hopes external sources can, within two years, pay for its Birmingham-based European & International Affairs team - plus £120,000 for its office in Brussels.

Supporters say the office is "required as much, if not more, post-Brexit".

UKIP MEP for the West Midlands Bill Etheridge thinks the office should be "closed down immediately".

This is what the prime minister said in her Brexit speech.

Bob Dale
BBC Live reporter

Prime Minister Theresa May says the UK wants to be Europe's "best friend and neighbour" when it quits the European Union

Is leaving the single market what you wanted when you cast your vote in the referendum?

What will it mean to you?

Lewes MP Maria Caufield voted to leave and now sits on the Brexit Select Committee.

Crossbench peer and Cobra beer founder Lord Bilimoria says the UK faces a period of "incredible uncertainty" as it pieces together a new relationship with the EU and deepens its trade ties with the rest of the world.

Businesses, above all, will be concerned about restrictions on hiring staff and despite Mrs May's commitment to continuing to welcome the "brightest and best", he says it is unclear how a post-Brexit immigration system will operate.

Nicola Sturgeon says a second Scottish independence referendum is more likely given Theresa May's plan for a hard Brexit.

No 10 says that Theresa May will be speaking to European leaders this evening following her speech.

At this afternoon's lobby briefing, a Downing Street spokesperson said it would regard the parliamentary vote on the final Brexit deal as binding but would not speculate on what would happen if MPs voted against it.

Welsh politicians clash over Theresa May's announcement that the UK should leave the EU single market.