Radio 4 PM

Is today the day for people opposed to Brexit to stop opposing it? 

Matt Kelly, editor of anti-Brexit newspaper The New European, told Radio 4's Eddie Mair he would carry on fighting to stop Brexit and "expose the lies", arguing "people deserve another say". 

Lucy Thomas was deputy director of Britain Stronger In Europe - she said people had to make the case for the best possible deal, "rather than sticking your fingers in your ears".  

Image source, AP

• Theresa May has triggered Article 50, the mechanism by which the UK will leave the EU
• A six page letter informing the EU of the UK's intention to leave was given to EU officials at 12.25 BST on Wednesday.
• The prime minister told MPs that there was "no turning back" and she was committed to building a "deep and special" new relationship with the EU
• European leaders say they are saddened by the move and their primary focus is now on protecting the interests of the other 27 countries
• German Chancellor Angela Merkel appears to scotch a key UK demand by saying talks on exit and a future trade deal cannot happen in parallel
• The Euroepan Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator criticises what he claims is an attempt to link trade and security in the Article 50 letter as negotiating battle lines are drawn

Image source, Reuters

The Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat has expressed concern about the link made in Theresa May's Article 50 letter between a trade agreement and future security cooperation. 'The (UK) prime minister is equating a security agreement with a free trade agreement," he said. "I think we should take note of that." "We are part of the same family," Mr Muscat said in Valletta. "We should be committed to fighting terrorism and beefing up our security irrespective of what happens at the end of the day. "Now the ball is on the European court in order to reply in as short as possible a timeframe."

BBC News Channel

Richard Tice, the co-chair of the Leave Means Leave group, says the mention of security co-operation in the PM's letter was a "little reminder" of what the UK has to offer in this area and could not possibly be construed as a threat. 

Asked about Lord Heseltine's comments, in which he expressed disbelief that the issue had even been raised, he said "he would say that wouldn't he".

On the bigger picture, Mr Tice says the UK must determine pretty quickly whether it was going to get a deal or not.

Prime Minister Theresa May tells the BBC's Andrew Neil the UK will have a "different relationship" with the EU after Brexit, but that it will "have the same benefits" on trade.

You can watch the full interview on this page, or on BBC One, at 19:30 BST.

Article 50 is triggered with a single letter sent to Brussels. But what was the last actual letter you sent?

There is "no reason to pretend this is a happy day", European Council President Donald Tusk says.

Image source, AP

There has been a lot of talk about this question today. Here the BBC's Danny Shaw examines the security issues at stake in the Brexit process.

In theory, it is in everyone's interests for the UK and the EU to maintain co-operation after Brexit on policing, law enforcement and security.

Catching criminals, thwarting terrorism and safeguarding vulnerable people is important to us all.

The terror attack at Westminster has served only to emphasise that.

In practice, though, it will be hard to achieve the efficiency and effectiveness of the current arrangements.

These include:

• the European Arrest Warrant (EAW) process, under which criminal suspects can be speedily extradited between EU states
• Europol, an EU agency that co-ordinates continent-wide crime-fighting operations and the exchange of intelligence
• the Second Generation Schengen Information System (SIS II), which issues alerts to officers and border staff about suspects, foreign fighters and missing people

There is a consensus that the access Britain has to SIS II, Europol and the EAW is vital to the UK's crime-fighting capabilities.

But the access is derived from the UK's membership of the EU, its adoption of an EU-wide data protection framework and compliance with rulings from the European Court of Justice.

If the UK no longer signs up to the rules, why should it be allowed into the club?

Read more

Former Conservative cabinet minister Stephen Dorrell has rejected Theresa May's call for the different sides in the EU referendum to come together and rally behind the cause of securing the best future for the UK outside the EU.

The former MP, who is now chair of the European Movement UK, says "it doesn’t follow that those who lose power must change their minds".

In an e-mail to Remain supporters, he said they had a duty to continue to argue their case that the UK was better off inside the EU. 

Image source, EPA

There was little optimism on show in Europe's newspapers as Brexit loomed.

"Divorce hurts," warned Germany's centre-right Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitungover a photograph of Winston Churchill's brooding statue in Parliament Square.

Its economics correspondent Ralph Bollman warned that the loss to the EU of its third largest economy would "also weaken Germany's voice in the world". Overall, he believed a "highly-indebted Britain has the most to lose from uncertainty over a friendly deal with Brussels".

The headline for France's centre-left Le Monde was "The consequences of the break". While Theresa May started from a position of strength because of "the decay" of the opposition Labour Party, the UK faced "complex negotiations over expatriates, access to the single market, and control of borders".

Italy's Corriere della Sera said "Brexit is under way, but without walls": negotiations would set "no predetermined ceilings for EU migration, but rather decisions sector by sector".

For the London correspondent of Poland's Gazeta Wyborcza this was the start of a "journey into the unknown". Its focus was on the fate of Polish workers in the UK. Even its account of a possible second referendum on Scottish independence was headed with the question: "What does this mean for Polish immigrants?"

BBC Hereford and Worcester

Lord Digby Jones says that countries will continue to trade with the UK post-Brexit. 

Lord Jones, from Worcestershire, who served as the trade minister in Gordon Brown's government, says negotiations will be difficult, but the end result won't result in "armageddon". 

It follows Theresa May's decision to trigger Article 50 - the two-year process in which the county will leave the EU.

Kamal Ahmed
Economics editor

Image source, AFP

Philip Hammond was very visibly sitting alongside Theresa May as the prime minister made her statement on Article 50.

And the push and pull between the UK's two most important addresses as Britain starts the process of leaving the European Union - Number 10 and Number 11 - was evident in every word of the statement and the following letter triggering our exit from the EU.

Theresa May talked of prosperity, quite deliberately, more than once.

She said that Britain would be a "magnet for international talent", that entrepreneurs would be welcome and that the UK would be a committed partner for the EU which Britain wanted to flourish.

You can almost see the hand of the Treasury in every part, concerned as that department is that the toughest economic period is not behind us, but is ahead.  

Read Kamal's full article

Image source, AP

For the record, and these details are always important, the European Council say they believe that Article 50 was triggered at 12:25 BST.

Presumably that timing is important for deciding the precise date and time that the UK leaves the EU in two years' time.

UKIP's leader in the Welsh Assembly apologises for a remark allegedly directed at an AM who said triggering Brexit was a "sad day".

AMs said that Mr Hamilton had said "suicide is an option" while Eluned Morgan spoke in the Senedd.

Presiding Officer Elin Jones repeatedly asked Mr Hamilton to say sorry for the remark.

He said that in deference to Ms Jones he would "apologise for whatever remark I am supposed to have made".

First minister claims Theresa May still cannot answer basic questions on what Brexit will actually mean.

House of Lords
Parliament

Lords Leader Baroness Evans says the government has made it clear it does not want to see the UK fall back on World Trade Organisation rules. 

She reiterates her commitment to engage with Parliament at every stage.