General news

• Government figures could be preparing for UK to rejoin EU - former Brexit minister

  08-10-2018 23:57
  Senior government figures could be trying to engineer the softest possible form of Brexit to allow Britain to rejoin the EU, an MP and former minister has claimed.Steve Baker, who quit the Brexit department in July, suggested "powerful forces" were seeking to keep the country in arrangements similar to the single market and customs union.In a video message, Mr Baker said: "It may be that powerful forces within the government are determined to have a high-alignment Brexit, something like the EEA
  
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• Salisbury poisoning: Russian military doctor named as second suspect in Skripal attack

  08-10-2018 23:26
  The identity of the second suspect in the Salisbury poisoning has been revealed as Dr Alexander Yevgenyevich Mishkin, a doctor in Russia's military intelligence agency.The Bellingcat investigative website posted the name online almost a fortnight afterit outed the first suspect as Colonel Anatoliy Chepiga , 39, also a GRU officer.British police last month accused the two men of attempting to assassinate Sergei Skripal, a former Russian double agent, and his daughter Yulia with a novichok nerve a
  
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• Rebecca Humphries Breaks Silence ‘On Own Terms’ After Strictly Scandal, And Speaks For Every Woman Who's *Ever* Been Cheated On

  08-10-2018 22:52
  Seann Walsh's girlfriend Rebecca Humphries has spoken out after the comedian
  
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• Rebecca Humphries Breaks Silence ‘On Own Terms’ After 'Strictly' Scandal, And Speaks For Every Woman Who's *Ever* Been Cheated On

  08-10-2018 22:52
  The actor Rebecca Humphries has spoken out after her boyfriend, the comedian
  
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• Climate change: What would you be prepared to do?

  08-10-2018 22:35 via bbc.co.uk
  Here's five things we can do to help prevent global temperatures rising more than 1.5 degrees C.
  
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• Sturgeon wants backstop for Scotland

  08-10-2018 22:15
  Scotland's first minister says she does not want checks at the English border but a backstop could trigger an independence vote.
  
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• DUP's Arlene Foster to meet Michel Barnier in new Brexit deal offensive

  08-10-2018 22:02
  Arlene Foster is travelling to Brussels to lead a new UK offensive to clinch a Brexit deal as the end-of-autumn deadline looms.The DUP leader and former first minister will hold an "intensive" three-day set of meetings with chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and representatives of EU countries.In a pointed message that will be heard in Downing Street, Mrs Foster said her only "red line" was carving up the UK to leave Northern Ireland in any kind of special alignment with the EU27.
  
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• Second Salisbury Spy Poisoning Suspect Identified As Russian Military Doctor Called Alexander Mishkin

  08-10-2018 21:20
  A military doctor employed by Russia's GRU intelligence agency was one of the
  
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• Second Salisbury Spy Poisoning Suspect Identified As Russian Military Doctor Called Alexander Mishki

  08-10-2018 21:20
  A military doctor employed by Russia's GRU intelligence agency was one of the
  
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• Raab to update MPs on Brexit talks as May is accused of ducking out

  08-10-2018 21:08
  Theresa May would not be reporting back on the Salzburg summit, her spokesman said.The Brexit secretary, Dominic Raab, is expected to update MPs on the state of the negotiations with the EU after Labour accused the government of ducking parliamentary scrutiny over the rocky Salzburg summit.Sources in Raab’s department signalled that the minister hoped to make a statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday.
  
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• Labour set to push May for statement to MPs on Brexit talks

  08-10-2018 21:08
  Theresa May would not be reporting back on the Salzburg summit, her spokesman said.Labour is likely press the government to make a statement to parliament on the state of the Brexit negotiations on Tuesday, as MPs return to Westminster.Theresa May’s spokesman said she would not be reporting back from September’s Salzburg summit, and would instead face MPs’ questions as usual on Wednesday, but Labour is expected to demand an update.
  
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• BBC chief: 'fake news' label erodes confidence in journalism

  08-10-2018 21:00
  The director general of the BBC has warned that the misuse of the term fake news by “repressive regimes” threatens to damage confidence in journalism, as he unveiled the corporation’s plans to tackle misinformation.In the inaugural Society of Editors Satchwell lecture on Monday, Tony Hall said honest mistakes by media organisations were being wrongly portrayed as an intention to mislead.Lord Hall has pledged that the broadcaster will be more robust in its fact-checking and is s
  
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• At least 440 homeless people died in UK in past year, study shows

  08-10-2018 20:26
  Homelessness charities have called the ‘utterly unforgivable’ deaths a national disgrace.More than 440 homeless people have died on streets or in temporary accommodation in the UK in the past year, an investigation has found.Charities have called the deaths a national disgrace and have blamed soaring homelessness on austerity, expensive private rents and a lack of social housing.
  
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• Jaguar Land Rover in two-week shutdown as sales struggle

  08-10-2018 20:12
  Car maker Jaguar Land Rover is to shut down its main plant for two weeks to reflect "fluctuating demand" - after sales to China were hit by the country's burgeoning trade war with the US.It comes after earlier this year 1,000 agency staff at the site were axed while another plant in Castle Bromwich saw production cut back to a three-day week.Latest figures showed JLR sold 57,114 vehicles in September, 12.3% down on the same month last year - with a slump of 46.2% in China blamed on "import duty
  
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• Red October: High pressure to bring warm weather to parts of UK

  08-10-2018 20:04
  It may be too soon to pack away the summer clothes, as temperatures are set to soar back to 23C (73F) before the end of the week.Although Scotland and parts of the North are experiencing a wet start to the week, the rain should pass by Wednesday, leading the way for sun and temperatures in the late teens.Before then, the Met Office has issued a weather warning for rain in Scotland, even suggesting there is a risk of flooding to homes and businesses, until the end of the day on Tuesday.
  
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• Met police's use of force jumps 79% in one year

  08-10-2018 20:00
  The UK’s largest police force used methods ranging from handcuffing to use of stun guns, CS spray, batons and guns 270 times a day on average.The Metropolitan police’s use of force has risen sharply in the last year, with black people far more likely to be subjected to it than anyone else, the Guardian can reveal.The UK’s largest police force deployed methods ranging from handcuffing to use of stun guns, CS spray, batons and guns 41,329 times in April to August of this year &nd
  
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• At Least 449 Homeless People Died Last Year, Bureau of Investigative Journalism And Channel 4 News Reveals

  08-10-2018 20:00
  At least 449 people died while being homeless across the UK in the last year,
  
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• At Least 449 Homeless People Died Last Year, Bureau of Investigative Journalism And Channel 4 News Reveal

  08-10-2018 20:00
  At least 449 people died while being homeless across the UK in the last year,
  
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• Everything to play for if MPs reject Brexit deal, says Nicola Sturgeon

  08-10-2018 19:58
  Nicola Sturgeon hopes the Scottish National party can help engineer a political crisis at Westminster that will force MPs to reconsider continued UK membership of the EU single market and customs union after Brexit.Sturgeon believes withholding support would make it impossible for the UK government to build a majority in favour of a hard Brexit, and would create a position that could attract pro-European MPs from both Labour and the Tories.
  
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• EU's Jean-Claude Juncker denies mocking Theresa May with own dance

  08-10-2018 19:53
  EU chief Jean-Claude Juncker has denied he mocked Theresa May by dancing at the start of a speech.The European Commission president defended his gentle jig, which saw him bop from side to side moving his arms.It came as music faded and he prepared to make a speech opening the "week of regions and cities".
  
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• EU's Brexit vision plan likely to be delayed over doubts at No 10

  08-10-2018 19:41
  A fresh clash in the Brexit negotiations over Theresa May’s demand for frictionless trade is set to delay the publication of the EU’s vision of the future relationship, as Downing Street downplayed the optimism expressed by senior officials in Brussels about the talks.Plans to publish a document outlining the nature of the Canada-style free trade deal being offered by Brussels look likely to be put on ice after the prime minister’s Brexit adviser, Olly Robbins, warned that aspi
  
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• Leader of Northern Ireland's DUP says wants Brexit that works for Ireland

  08-10-2018 19:40
  The Northern Irish party which props up Prime Minister Theresa May's government said on Monday that it wanted a Brexit that worked for the Republic of Ireland too, as its leader travels to Brussels for talks with EU negotiator Michel Barnier.The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland is the last major sticking point in Brexit talks between Britain and the European Union, and both sides are trying to work out how to monitor and regulate trade over the border.Last week the Dem
  
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• Pret A Manger allergy deaths: Family of second suspected victim 'want answers'

  08-10-2018 19:28
  The family of a second person believed to have died after suffering an allergic reaction to a Pret A Manger sandwich say they want "answers".Mother-of-five Celia Marsh died in December last year after eating a "super-veg rainbow flatbread" containing a yoghurt that was supposed to be dairy-free, but was found to be contaminated with dairy.In a statement, they said: "We have kept a dignified silence since the death of Celia in December last year as the family has come to terms with her sudden and
  
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• A level playing field for Oxford and Cambridge?

  08-10-2018 19:26
  Pre-U exams offered to privately educated pupils are not subject to the ‘additional rules’ that apply to the A-levels that most students at state schools take.With Oxford and Cambridge universities “still dominated by white, wealthy students, many of whom are privately educated”, the “transition programme” being introduced by Cambridge does not go far enough (Cambridge sets up £500m scheme to help poor students, 2 October).While both universities are wil
  
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• Crewe youth coach abused boy over three-year period, court told

  08-10-2018 19:03
  Paul McCann denies six specimen charges of indecent assault.A former youth team coach at Crewe Alexandra subjected a teenage boy to a string of sexual assaults over a three-year period in the late 1980s, a court has heard.Paul McCann, who coached Crewe’s under-16s, is alleged to have groomed the teenager by showering him with gifts, taking him on football tours and letting him drink alcohol under-age on holidays.
  
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• Domestic violence hotlines and shelters saw spike around AFL and NRL grand finals

  08-10-2018 19:00
  In the aftermath of the AFL and NRL grand finals, callers to a domestic violence counselling hotline had phoned in to report incidents of psychological, emotional abuse, controlling and coercive behaviour and serious assaults.Domestic violence counselling hotlines and women’s shelters experienced a spike in demand last week in the aftermath of the AFL and NRL grand finals.The national domestic violence counselling service 1800Respect said there was a 10% rise in calls and online chats on g
  
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• Uber drivers set to go on strike across the UK

  08-10-2018 18:27
  Uber drivers across the UK are set to strike for 24 hours from tomorrow as the company continues to appeal against a court ruling giving them employee rights.The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) has called for a 24-hour strike of Uber drivers in London, Birmingham and Nottingham from 1pm on Tuesday 9 October.Uber lost a court battle in 2016 when an employment tribunal found against its classification of drivers as independent contractors, although the company continues to appeal
  
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• Here’s the science behind the spectacular light show caused by a SpaceX launch

  08-10-2018 18:14
  Brad Gibson, head of physics at the University of Hull, has revealed why we saw such a remarkable sight.
  
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• Bradley Cooper hints at playing Glastonbury for real after A Star Is Born role

  08-10-2018 18:12
  Bradley Cooper has hinted that he might perform at Glastonbury for real, after making a surprise appearance last year as part of shooting for his latest film.The Oscar-nominated actor, who thrilled festival-goers when he walked out on to the famous Pyramid Stage in 2017, said he would love to perform at the festival again, as himself rather than in character.Cooper plays singer-songwriter Jackson Maine in A Star Is Born, a tragic love story co-starring Lady Gaga, and also makes his directorial d
  
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• UK Weather: Temperatures Set To Soar To 24C – But It's Going To Be Short-Lived

  08-10-2018 17:45
  Autumn may be getting into its stride, yet an Indian Summer is set to make a
  
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• 'Misleading' school stats published by Department for Education, regulator claims

  08-10-2018 17:44
  The official statistics regulator has accused ministers of threatening to undermine trust over "concerning" published figures - including "exaggerating" the level of school funding.Sir David Norgrove, head of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA), tackled the Department for Education (DfE) over its record of potentially "misleading" numbers.Education Secretary Damian Hinds replied that the department was "looking into the precise issues that you raise".
  
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• Westminster attack inquests: Top Met officer 'locked car door' as carnage unfolded

  08-10-2018 17:33
  The man in charge of the Met Police when an unarmed officer was murdered during the Westminster terror attacks stayed in his car nearby as he had no protective equipment, inquests into the attack have heard.Current deputy commissioner Sir Craig Mackey, who was then acting head of Scotland Yard, was being driven out of the parliament grounds when the attack by terrorist Khalid Masood unfolded.
  
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• UK, EU play game of chicken in Brexit countdown

  08-10-2018 17:33
  LONDON/BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Britain said on Monday it could not agree a divorce deal with the European Union without a framework pact on future relations, throwing down the gauntlet to the bloc which also says it cannot move on talks until London does.Both sides are eyeing significant progress at an Oct. 17-18 summit in Brussels but in different sequences - Prime Minister Theresa May wants to see the EU's proposal for post-Brexit ties while the EU seeks a new offering from her on the Irish borde
  
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• UK union calls on its Uber drivers to strike on Tuesday

  08-10-2018 17:29
  A British trade union called on Uber [UBER.UL] drivers to strike in London, Birmingham and Nottingham on Tuesday for 24 hours by not signing into the app, in a push for higher fares and moreworking rights.Uber has around 60,000 drivers in Britain and earlier this year won back its right to operate in London after it was stripped of its licence by the city's regulator.The Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) expects hundreds of drivers at least to participate in the industrial action
  
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• Scotland should have its own Brexit backstop - Sturgeon

  08-10-2018 17:23
  Scotland should have its own version of the Brexit "backstop" plan that the European Union and United Kingdom are trying to agree for the Irish border, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Monday.The backstop that seeks to find a way to avoid checks on the border between Northern Ireland and EU state Ireland if there is no overall exit deal for Britain has become the biggest sticking point in negotiations between London and Brussels.
  
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• Are the condoms and vomit found in MPs’ offices to be expected? Cleaners give their verdicts

  08-10-2018 17:23
  Commons as muck ... MPs could be asked to sign a code of conduct regarding cleaning.MPs have been compared to rowdy university freshers after vomit and used condoms were discovered in their parliamentary offices.The politicians, who share their offices with researchers and other assistants, could now be asked to sign up to a code of conduct as cleaners in parliament are no longer prepared to tidy up after their debauchery.
  
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• Are the condoms and vomit found in MPs’ office to be expected? Cleaners give their verdict

  08-10-2018 17:23
  Commons as muck ... MPs could be asked to sign a code of conduct regarding cleaning.MPs have been compared to rowdy university freshers after vomit and used condoms were discovered in their parliamentary offices.The politicians, who share their offices with researchers and other assistants, could now be asked to sign up to a code of conduct as cleaners in parliament are no longer prepared to tidy up after their debauchery.
  
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• Grenfell Inquiry: Woman describes being separated from father, 82, as they fled blaze

  08-10-2018 17:19
  A woman has described how she became separated from her frail 82-year-old father as they tried to escape from the 11th floor of the Grenfell Tower in a smoke-filled lift.Nadia Jafari, who was recovering from having major surgery five days before the fire, fled with Ali Yawar Jafari after flames entered their flat.Mr Jafari's body was discovered in the tower later.
  
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• Voters' confidence in May's handling of Brexit rises - ORB poll

  08-10-2018 17:05
  British voters approval of Prime Minister Theresa May's handling of Brexit negotiations has risen for the first time in five months, the ORB International pollster said on Monday.Approval of May's handling of Brexit talks rose as high as 47 percent in the first half of 2017 but has since fallen as the government struggles to strike a deal on Britain's future relationship with the European Union.May, tasked with delivering Britain's exit from the European Union after a 2016 referendum which conti
  
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• EU Denies Jean-Claude Juncker Was Making Fun Of Theresa May's Dancing

  08-10-2018 16:52
  Jean-Claude Juncker was not making fun of Theresa May when he danced on stage,
  
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• Plan for no-deal Brexit crunch, defence body urges Hammond

  08-10-2018 16:44
  The Treasury should prepare emergency measures to ease a cashflow crisis that could hit companies in the event of a "no-deal" Brexit, the leading body representing Britain's aerospace and defence industry has told Philip Hammond.Sky News has seen a letter from ADS, the trade association which counts Airbus and Rolls-Royce among its members, in which its chief executive urges the chancellor to ensure that there is sufficient liquidity to prevent companies being punished for "dipping into their ov
  
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• Man arrested in Rome after Liverpool fan suffered 'catastrophic' head injury

  08-10-2018 16:37
  Italian police have arrested a man in Rome over the assault of a Liverpool football fan who was left in a critical condition.Sean Cox, 53, wasattacked outside Anfield stadium ahead of a Champions League matchbetween Liverpool FC and AS Roma on 24 April.Merseyside Police have worked alongside Italian officers to arrest a 30-year-old man on a European Arrest Warrant on suspicion of assault.
  
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• Man charged after four police officers attacked in north London

  08-10-2018 16:22
  A teenager has been charged with attempted murder after four police officers were attacked in north London.Alex Traykov, a 19-year-old from Redhill, will appear in court on Monday charged with four counts of attempted murder.Police were called to Liverpool Road in Islington at 10.45pm on Saturday night to reports of fighting and were "met with hostility".
  
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• UK statistics body has 'serious concerns' over DfE funding claims

  08-10-2018 16:18
  The education secretary, Damian Hinds, agreed his department ‘could have been clearer’ on reading performance but stood by the claim about 1.9 million pupils in good or outstanding schools.The education secretary, Damian Hinds, has been publicly reprimanded by the UK statistics watchdog over his department’s repeated misuse of data, in particular its “potentially misleading” claims over schools funding.The UK Statistics Authority (UKSA) complained it had had reason
  
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• Exploring case law: where the rulebook meets reality

  08-10-2018 16:06 via theguardian.com
  Case law is needed to clear up the ambiguities of the law. Here, three experts from Thomson Reuters reveal their favourite cases and explain their impact on the way we live todayWhen written in plain black and white, laws may seem like simple things: you can do this, you can’t do that. But when the theory comes into contact with the real world – a messy place filled with complicated human behaviours and interactions – that clarity can deteriorate fast.To correct for such ambigu
  
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• SNP: Majority would support independent Scotland in event of hard Brexit

  08-10-2018 16:05
  SNP MP Ian Blackford told Sky's Sophy Ridge live from the SNP party conference that "A majority of people would support a independent Scotland in the likelihood of a hard Brexit".
  
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• Pregnant mum jailed after love triangle ends in murder

  08-10-2018 16:00
  Prosecutors said Sarah Bramley, 29, enjoyed "the drama and attention of the situation" of two men - David Saunders and Michael Lawson - competing for her.Saunders was incensed by the photo and chased down Mr Lawson before fatally stabbing him in the heart last July in Darlington.It comes after Saunders admitted murder and was jailed for life with a minimum term of 22-and-a-half years in December.
  
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• Former Cambridge Analytica chief used N-word to describe Barbados PM

  08-10-2018 16:00
  Alexander Nix, the British consultant who lost his business after an Observer investigation exposed Cambridge Analytica’s unauthorised use of Facebook data.Alexander Nix, the former chief executive of the elections consultancy Cambridge Analytica, is facing fresh questions about his conduct after a leak of documents revealed he used a highly offensive racial slur to describe the prime minister of Barbados.The British consultant, who lost his business after an investigation by the Observer
  
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• Brexit: SNP's Ian Blackford vows to cause 'maximum disruption' to Theresa May's government

  08-10-2018 15:53
  The SNP's leader at Westminster says his party's 35 MPs will cause "maximum disruption" in the Commons to disrupt the Tory government's agenda on Brexit and other issues.In a fiery speech at the SNP conference in Glasgow, Ian Blackford signalled he is prepared to stage more walkouts like the protest which disrupted Prime Minister's Questions in June.After Mr Blackford was ordered to leave the chamber by Speaker John Bercow for repeatedly calling for parliament to sit in private and refusing to s
  
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• Nicola Sturgeon wants Northern Ireland single market backstop deal for Scotland

  08-10-2018 15:36
  Nicola Sturgeon has said Scotland should remain in the single market after Brexit under the same backstop deal as Northern Ireland.The Scottish first minister told Sky News that without the same deal for Scotland, Glasgow and Belfast might find themselves competing for investment.
  
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