The Daily Mail

Image source, Reuters

The prime minister has described her husband Philip as her "rock" during one of the most tumultuous weeks of her political career.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, external she said that as she faced resignations, threats of a coup and personal attacks over her Brexit deal over the last few days, her husband of 38 years has been on hand to provide much-needed moral support.

After Wednesday's fiery five-hour Cabinet meeting, the first thing Philip did was to pour her a whisky.

"On Thursday, he served up beans on toast for tea," she said.

Theresa May also revealed that her husband finds it hard to hear the personal criticism directed to her, saying "It's often harder for the other half because they are watching it and feel protective and think 'Why are they saying that to my wife?'"

The prime minister says it is Philip who urges her to keep going and to "keep doing the right thing", notes how "hugely important" it is "to have somebody there who is supportive of you, not involved in the intricacies of politics but there to provide human support".

BBC News NI

The Chief Constable of Northern Ireland, George Hamilton, has told BBC News that more than 100 additional officers will be recruited in the coming months to "help prepare for every eventuality" associated with the UK's departure from the EU.

He rejected suggestions that the security risks posed by any sort of hard border were being exaggerated, saying "it would be foolhardy for police not to prepare for a potential increase in tensions".

Image source, Getty Images

She has survived a tumultuous few days, but the pressure is not off Theresa May.

The prime minister completed her ministerial reshuffle on Friday after a series of resignations following the publication of her draft Brexit deal. She has the backing of senior cabinet members.

But the possibility of a challenge to her leadership has not evaporated. So far 23 Conservative backbenchers have publicly said they have submitted letters calling for a vote of no confidence.

Mrs May has used an interview with the Daily Mail, external to continue to insist the plan in its existing form will deliver a Brexit that works in the national interest.

This weekend party whips are taking soundings on what level of support the PM can command, while she called dozens of constituency chairmen on Friday night to appeal to them to back both her deal and her leadership.

BBC political correspondent Iain Watson says Mrs May will try to sell the deal both to party members and the wider public through what is being described as a social media blitz.

Meanwhile, a group of five ministers in Theresa May's top team are hoping to persuade her to make changes to the deal.

It is believed Theresa May will spend the weekend trying to sell the deal to her party and the wider public.

This comes as a group of five Brexiteers within the cabinet are seeking to persuade her to make changes to her EU withdrawal agreement.

The prisons minister Rory Stewart says the flurry of criticisms and resignations has "cut short the public debate about what the agreement would actually mean".

Image source, PA

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

When pushed on the emergence of the cabinet 'gang of five' who seem to have a plan to force Theresa May into changing her Brexit plan, Tory chairman Brandon Lewis says it is "good that there are people with different views in the party".

This comes after reports that Andrea Leadsom, Michael Gove, Chris Grayling, Penny Mordaunt and Liam Fox are meeting this weekend to discuss an alternative Brexit plan.

Brandon Lewis urges MPs to "read the whole draft withdrawal agreement text" and says the five cabinet members mentioned above are "thinking about the long term".

He reiterates that the prime minister is "doing the best for her country" and says this is "the most complicated deal".

When asked if Theresa May is ready for a leadership challenge, Lewis says "I think this prime minister is ready for anything."

Today Programme
BBC Radio 4

Speaking on Today this morning, Conservative Party chairman Brandon Lewis says he hopes that "colleagues will look back over the last week and see why Theresa May is exactly the right person to lead this party and country".

"She showed great passion and determination to MPs and the nation," he adds.

"I am proud to work with her, proud to sit in a Cabinet with her and I am proud that we have someone who puts the people's interests first as prime minister."

Brandon Lewis says May's focus is "delivering on the referendum in a way that's beneficial for our country, which is exactly where it should be".

Laura Kuenssberg
BBC political editor

Image source, AFP

Westminster seemed more peaceful last night.

But Number 10 knows they'd be kidding themselves to imagine that the danger has gone. We simply won't know, probably until Monday, whether there are enough Tory MPs willing to put their names to letters calling for her to go to trigger a vote on confidence in her that might - in theory - force her from office.

It is possible that by the start of next week Theresa May finds herself with a vote that could unseat her.

Read more from Laura

The political upheavals at Westminster over the draft Brexit deal continue to dominate coverage in the papers - with much of the focus now on whether Theresa May will face a vote of no confidence from her MPs.

The Times says the prime minister used a reshuffle to bolster the cabinet with loyalists amid fears that she could face a challenge next week.

"May calls in cavalry to fight coup," is the headline in the Express.

The Daily Telegraph leads with the moves by Environment Secretary Michael Gove and his allies to try to force Mrs May into a last-minute change to the Brexit deal as the price for withdrawing their threats to resign.

Elsewhere, the Daily Mail carries an interview with Mrs May in which she pays tribute to her husband, Philip, for supporting her through the tumultuous week of resignations, plotting and vicious personal attacks.

Read more from Saturday's papers here

We're bringing the live page to a close, so here's a recap of the main events:

• Steve Barclay has been appointed as the new Brexit Secretary, replacing Dominic Raab. Formerly a minister at the department for health and social care, Mr Barclay is a Leave supporter
• Former Home Secretary Amber Rudd returns to cabinet as the Work and Pensions Secretary, following the resignation of Esther McVey. Labour criticised the appointment, blaming her for the Windrush scandal
• Stephen Hammond will take over from Mr Barclay at the department for health and social care
• The mini-reshuffle also means John Penrose will join the Northern Ireland office, replacing Shailesh Vara, and Kwasi Kwarteng will go to the Department for Exiting the EU, replacing Suella Braverman
• Brexiteers Michael Gove and Liam Fox rallied behind Theresa May and urged MPs to support the deal
• But more than 20 MPs have called for a no-confidence vote in the prime minister

You can continue to follow any further developments and comment through the evening on the BBC News Channel and on the Stephen Nolan show on BBC Radio 5 Live following the international football.

Hungry for more Brexit news and analysis?

At 22:30 GMT on BBC Two, Newsnight promises to fully assess the events of the past week and work out who is in a better position than this time last Friday.

Prisons Minister Rory Stewart and Attorney General Geoffrey Cox are on as guests from the government.

It's not yet clear whether Mr Cox will be asked about the mini Twitter campaign that sprung up earlier today to have him appointed Brexit secretary, simply because of his commanding voice being compared to Brian Blessed and Mufasa the Lion King., external

Tory MP Johnny Mercer tweets a video of a fight breaking out between lawmakers in Sri Lanka's parliament.

"It could be worse," he jokes.

Labour's shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said the appointment of Stephen Barclay as his opposite number "changes absolutely nothing".

He said: "After two years of negotiation, the Prime Minister has failed to deliver a Brexit deal that can command the support of Parliament.

"A new face in the Brexit department will do nothing to bring this divided government back together."

Tory MP Vicky Ford, who is a friend of new Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay, says he is someone who "listens very hard".

A conference call designed to win over local Conservative Associations to the prime minister's Brexit deal is not going according to plan, tweets ConservativeHome executive editor Mark Wallace.

Some participants in the call are say they are being cut off by the system when they try to ask a question.

Image source, @donaldtusk/Instagram

The European Council President, Donald Tusk, shared some pictures on Instagram of his day, which was spent discussing Brexit.

Yesterday, Mr Tusk announced the special EU summit to finalise the Brexit deal will take place on 25 November "if nothing extraordinary happens".

And today he met the Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, who said the draft Brexit agreement is a "good deal".

Irish foreign minister Simon Coveney said the country was not making any plans for a possible hard border with Northern Ireland while it waits to see if the UK Parliament will approve the Brexit deal.

"What we are not doing is putting contingency plans in place that would result in border infrastructure between the two jurisdictions on this island. Surely we have learned lessons from the past," he said at his Fine Gael party's annual conference.

If it looked like the UK were heading for a no-deal departure then direct talks about how to avoid the hard border would be necessary, he added.