European Parliament
Brussels

German Christian democrat MEP Manfred Weber, who leads the centre-right EPP group, says Brexit is a "mistake" but he hopes one day the country will rejoin the EU.

He adds, however, that there should be “no cherry picking” from the UK when it comes to gaining access to different sectors of the EU economy.

Spanish MEP Iratxe García, the leader of the centre-left S&D group, says Brexit will mark a "very sad day" for the European Union.

She says the British vote to leave should be respected, although she goes on to call the Brexit campaign "populist" and characterised by "lies".

BBC News Channel

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps says he has been "very concerned about Northern" since he took on the role.

He acknowledges "really large improvements will take time" but adds that some changes will be implemented "straight away".

These changes include deep cleaning the trains and improving the Sunday service.

He says he will task the Operator of Last Resort with coming up with a 100 day plan "to make improvements and recommend a way forward".

European Parliament
Brussels

Nikolina Brnjac, president in office of the Council of the EU, tells the parliament the short transition period after Brexit - just 11 months - "will unfortunately make it difficult to achieve widest rating" deal.

Boris Johnson has repeatedly said a trade deal can be agreed by the end of the year.

But Ms Brnjac says the EU must be "prepared for all possible scenarios".

She adds: "[The EU must] invest all efforts to avoid the risk of a cliff edge and to ensure meaningful outcome."

European Parliament
Brussels

European President Ursula von der Leyen says ratification of the withdrawal deal is “only a first step” towards a new partnership between the EU and the UK.

She says the two should "join forces" in areas such as climate change, and seek a close partnership following the UK's exit on Friday.

Looking ahead to future trade talks, she says the EU will insist the UK signs up to a "level playing field".

"We will certainly not expose our companies to unfair competition," she says.

But she finishes: "We will always love you, and we will not be far. Long live Europe."

European Parliament
Brussels

First up is Guy Verhofstadt, the parliament's Brexit coordinator and prominent voice in the Remain campaign.

He begins by thanking Michel Barnier, the EU's chief negotiator, for keeping the other 27 member states "united" during the whole process.

Mr Verhofstadt also pays tribute to British colleagues, or the "overwhelming majority" of them - perhaps poking at the Leave-backing MEPs - who he says "always brought wit, charm, intelligence... and let's recognise sometimes stubbornness in this house".

He adds: "I think I can say in the name of all of us... we will miss you in the coming time and coming years."

Mr Verhofstadt continues by saying it is "sad to see a country leaving [the EU] that twice liberated us, twice gave its blood to liberate Europe".

Adam Fleming
Brussels reporter

Image source, Getty Images

What we are going to see for the rest of the afternoon in the European Parliament is a lot of theatre.

We will hear from British MEPs - some of them are quite tearful about the fact their time in office is up.

I'm told the SNP group have arranged for a bagpiper to play them out of the building.

European Parliament
Brussels

The withdrawal agreement is the topic of conversation for the European Parliament this afternoon - and the last debate British MEPs will take part in before they leave the EU for good.

It is due to go on for about an hour and 45 minutes, with a range of speakers from both sides of the argument.

The vote on the deal should take place about 17:00 and it is widely expected to go through.

A group of MEPs have sung a fond farewell to their British colleagues leaving the EU this week.

Bulgarian politician Ilhan Kyuchyuk posted the video on Twitter.

BBC Radio 5 Live

Image source, PA

Yesterday one Northern Rail driver rang BBC Radio 5 Live to pass on his experience of working for the network.

"Things have definitely deteriorated. It's really demoralising to work for such a shoddy outfit," he said.

"We wear scruffy, tatty uniforms that, you know, we have to practically beg to get replacements for when they're worn out.

"And we come to work on a railway that the company doesn't care for."

He added: "I think the region deserves better - anybody who's been a passenger down south and up north can tell you the glaring differences."

The driver said crammed carriages were not just a problem for passengers but for staff also, who can struggle to manage the backlog of commuters.

"We get people knocking on the window complaining to us. We feel like we have to help the guards in managing crowd control," he said.

Tom Burridge
Transport correspondent, BBC News

This is an uncomfortable moment for the government. In the end, nationalising this vast commuter network was its only option.

An agreement to change Arriva's contract (Northern's parent company) and keep the firm on board wasn't possible because a commercially, and politically, palatable deal couldn't be found.

Contingency planning for the so-called Operator of Last Resort to step in has been under way for months.

If that work has been done well, it should be a seamless change and passengers should barely notice.

What the government wants on Northern is a new performance-related train contract.

This type of contract already exists on Merseyrail and the London Overground. These two companies do well in terms of passenger satisfaction.

These contracts put less risk on the train company but offer it no financial reward if passenger numbers rise.

As one rail boss described it, this type of system will be very similar to a nationalised railway, but private companies will still have a role to play.

Northern's failure is in large part down to ancient infrastructure which struggles to cope with the high volume of trains and passengers at peak times.

Put simply, there is no silver bullet for improving our railways.

BBC News Channel

David Sidebottom of the independent watchdog Transport Focus says today's decision on Northern Rail was "inevitable" as "passengers had lost trust".

"Change had to happen," he says.

However, he warns "there is "no silver bullet" for making the network better.

"It's going to take time and investment," he says.

He also argues that the franchising system is "a busted flush".

Image source, Siemens/ PA

The London to Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester line could cost more than £100bn, a leaked report suggests.

Read more on what now looks to be an imminent decision.

Image source, UK Parliament

Reacting to Labour's shadow transport secretary Andy McDonald says: "Yet another private train company has failed, leaving the nation to pick up the pieces.

"Taking Northern into public ownership is overdue, but it should be permanently nationalised along with the rest of the railway.

"Let’s take back control of our railway."

Image source, PA

Back to Northern Rail. Manuel Cortes, general secretary of the TSSA transport union, welcomes the decision but accuses the government of knowing that the "franchising of our railways, while stuffing the mouths of shareholders with gold, has completely failed".

While Mick Whelan, general secretary of the train drivers union Aslef says his union wants the railway in public ownership, but says "let's do it properly, with a clear, long-term, strategic vision, not just as a short-term response to the years of franchised failure."

He also warns that there "won't be an immediate improvement because many of the systemic failures at Northern - the late delivery of new rolling stock, the cancellation by the Conservative government of infrastructure upgrades, trying to run a service with too few drivers - cannot be remedied overnight".

Image source, AFP/Getty Images

Scottish MEPs are launching a new group as they leave their jobs behind in Brussels.

The SNP's Aileen McLeod, Christian Allard, and Heather Anderson, along with Scottish Lib Dem MEP Sheila Ritchie, are starting the "European Friends of Scotland".

They describe it as a "cross-party, cross-country friendship group that will strengthen and maintain Scotland’s relationship with our European friends and neighbours".

At an event, representatives from EU member states, including Germany, Poland and Sweden, came together to commit to a good working relationship between the European Parliament and Scotland.

In a joint statement, they said: “This is a sad week for Scotland, but it is also a time of hope.

“Our EU friends and colleagues have not turned their backs on us; they want us to stay, they want to maintain close links and contacts with Scotland, and they have seen the world of difference between the approach of the Scottish government and that of the UK government.

"We have had such a fantastic, warm welcome by everyone here with lots of support for Scotland going forward."

Image source, Getty Images

Two northern mayors have praised the decision by the government to take Northern Rail into public ownership.

The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, and the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Steve Rotheram, released a joint statement after the decision, calling it a "victory for passengers who have had to endure almost two years of misery and mayhem on Northern Rail".

They add: “We are pleased the government has finally answered our call and returned the Northern franchise to public ownership.

"But today’s welcome move by ministers is only the start of fixing the North’s railways.

“The government must now commit to investing in much-needed rail infrastructure and work with leaders across the North to deliver the vision and funding needed to build the modern transport network that the people of our region deserve.”

The government's decision to take Northern Rail into public ownership will see the firm's franchise stripped from operator Arriva Rail North.

Responding to the decision, the firm's managing director Chris Burchell said: “We had a clear vision for the Northern franchise that would better connect the cities of the North with more frequent, reliable and modern services and unlock economic growth.

"It was clear, however, that, largely because of external factors, the franchise plan had become undeliverable.

"A new plan is needed that will secure the future for Northern train services.

"As such, we understand government’s decision today."

He praised his staff, adding: "The scale of the challenges we faced outside of our direct control were unprecedented, particularly around delayed or cancelled infrastructure projects and prolonged strike action."

Defending the company's record, he said Arriva had "introduced more than 2,000 extra services per week, refurbished trains and stations, and created hundreds of new customer-facing jobs as part of a £600m investment programme for the North".

“We recognise however that overall service improvements have not come quickly enough, and passengers deserve better," he added.

"For that, we wholeheartedly apologise."

Image source, EPA

Back on UK soil again... While most of the chatter around Labour has been about the next leader, there is also the race for the deputy position running alongside.

Now, one of its candidates is getting the backing of two major party figures.

Labour's last two prime ministers, Gordon Brown and Tony Blair, have come out for Ian Murray - Scotland's only remaining Labour MP.

Mr Murray says he will "never trash the record of the last Labour government", praising the pair for delivering "transformational change in our country".

He adds: “The only way to get Labour back into power is to change our party once again."