Pulse.Assent

A Downing Street spokesperson said:

This afternoon, the Prime Minister Theresa May met Sinn Féin to discuss the recent progress in the final stage of negotiations with European Union.

The Prime Minister gave an update on the progress that has been made over the last few days with the EU and discussed the unresolved issues relating to the backstop.

In particular, the Prime Minister reaffirmed her commitment to there being no hard border between Northern Ireland and Ireland and no border in the Irish Sea.

They discussed the need to restore the Northern Ireland Executive, the PM reconfirmed the UK Government’s commitment to its role in this process and that the Secretary of State for NI will be introducing legislation to ensure public services in NI will continue to be delivered.

Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt today met Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu in London to discuss the growing relationship between Turkey and the UK on areas such as bilateral trade and investment.

The Foreign Secretary raised the situation in Syria, stressing the importance of ensuring the safety of civilians in Idlib and commended Turkey for hosting over 3.6 million refugees.

The Foreign Secretary also reiterated strong concerns over the disappearance of Jamal Khashoggi, and the urgent need for a credible and thorough investigation.

Following the meeting, the Foreign Secretary said:

The case of Jamal Khashoggi remains deeply concerning. The UK fully supports the Turkish investigation into the incident as I reiterated in person to Mr Çavuşoǧlu today.
We have been urging Saudi Arabia to cooperate fully with the investigation. There remain questions about the disappearance of Mr Khashoggi that only Saudi Arabia can answer.

To that end, we welcome King Salman’s and President Erdogan’s agreement of yesterday to establish a joint working group and the Saudi decision to ask the Prosecutor General to establish an internal investigation into Jamal Khashoggi’s disappearance and hold people accountable if the evidence warrants it.

Further information

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A Downing Street spokesperson said:

This afternoon, the Prime Minister Theresa May met with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to discuss the final stage of negotiations with the European Union.

The Prime Minister spoke about the real progress that has been made in recent weeks on both the withdrawal agreement and the political declaration on the future relationship. She also gave an update on the issues that still need to be resolved in relation to Northern Ireland and the backstop.

The Prime Minister emphasised that she believes that a negotiated deal is the best outcome for both the UK and for the European Union and that this deal is still achievable.