Brexit news: Latest updates from yesterday including Jeremy Corbyn refusing to back snap election

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WELCOME to your daily briefing on all the Brexit news from the past 12 hours.

It was another day of high drama as the Prime Minister focused his attention on a general election in December.

Boris Johnson announced he was going to call for a general election to be held on December 12

Corbyn bottles election challenge

Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn threw away the chance to do battle with Boris Johnson at the polling stations by refusing to back a call for the country to hold a general election.

The Prime Minister told the Commons he wanted a general election on December 12 and intends to push for one on Monday.

But despite Mr Corbyn having repeatedly said in the past he wanted the country to go to the polls he said he would only back a snap election when no-deal Brexit was off the table.

He said: “Take no-deal off the table and we absolutely support a general election.

“I’ve been calling for an election ever since the last one because this country needs one to deal with all the social injustice issues – but No Deal must be taken off the table.”

The Government would need the backing of two thirds of MPs to call an early election due to the Fixed Terms Parliament Act – and would fall considerably short of the 429 votes needed to trigger the vote without Labour.

Jeremy Corbyn though threw a spanner in the works and said he would only back an election if no deal was taken off the Brexit table

DUP accuses Johnson of dishonesty

Relations between the government and the DUP, which had been propping up the Tory administration hit rock bottom yesterday after it warned the Brexit deal marked the biggest change in the union since 1801.

The DUPs Westminster leader Nigel Dodds also accused the PM of being dishonest over his claim that there would be no checks between Northern Ireland Great Britain under his deal.

Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay was forced to admit that Mr Johnson was wrong to make this claim.

DUP deputy leader Nigel Dodds blasted the Prime Minister in the Commons

Mr Barclay was dragged to the House to clarify what extra checks would be needed on goods moving between the province and the rest of the UK after days of confusion.

Accusing the Government of playing loose with the truth, Mr Dodds stormed: There will be checks because were going to have export declarations from NI to GB.

He now calls them administrative processes but they are exit declarations which have to be checked – and for GB to Northern Ireland therell be customs declarations, physical checks, tariffs on goods going to the European Union and entry summary declarations.