Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happen
2.26pm BST
What I said was perfectly true,” claimed Mr Livingstone. “But Boris is a lot better informed about Ancient Greece and Rome than about modern history.
There was never a plan for a United States of Europe under Hitler. What he wanted was actually a Greater Germany that absorbed neighbouring states, with Britain and France rendered subservient.
2.07pm BST
Boris Johnson accused Osborne and other senior remain figures of being “in danger of talking down the whole UK economy” and causing financial problems with their dire predictions about Brexit.
Touring a clothing factory in Alfreton, he said the argument that the Leave campaign has lost the argument with companies was “absolute nonsense”.
I think the people who make this case are continually running Britain down ... This is a fantastically robust economy, the fifth biggest in the world. And this fantastic company is selling on the basis of the skills of its workforce and the design hat they produce and doing better and better around the world.
1.38pm BST
In his speech Boris Johnson also claimed that A&E waiting times were longer than ever and “a scandal”, and that leaving the EU would allow the government to spend more on the NHS.
[Business leaders] people never see the impact of those big migration flows on local housing, or school places, or of course on A&E. And it’s a scandal at the moment, I think, that A&E waiting times are longer than they have ever been in the history of the NHS. We would have a chance to put some more money into our fantastic NHS and try and sort out that problem.
1.22pm BST
Here is the Boris Johnson’s undergarment quote.
(At the risk of taking a prurient interest in the intricacies of his metaphor, Johnson seems to be comparing the EU to an ill-fitting pair of pants, not knickers.)
I think the EU is not fundamentally anti-democratic. We have no way of kicking these people out, we don’t know who they are. They are taking far too much of our democracy away, and it’s time we took it back.
I think when you look at the EU now, it reminds me - walking around this wonderful factory - it makes me think of some badly-designed undergarment that has now become too tight in some places, far too tight, far too constrictive, and dangerously loose in other places. Now, is that the kind of undergarment we make here at David Nieper? Absolutely not, absolutely not. That’s why are you are continuing to do so well.
1.08pm BST
Boris Johnson has just given a speech at the David Nieper clothing factory.
He went full surreal, and compared the EU to an ill-fitting pair of knickers.
12.58pm BST
Boris Johnson has been campaigning for Vote Leave in a clothing factory this morning.
Boris Johnson is about to be taught how to sew and iron a Vote Leave flag at David Nieper clothing factory (which exports to Europe)
Do you iron your own shirts Boris? "I have done but not with any great effectiveness" pic.twitter.com/A1wawobf8f
"We're going to flatten our opponents says Boris Johnson wielding a hot iron pic.twitter.com/BfbTyM3fps
12.52pm BST
Natalie Bennett, who has announced that she is standing down as leader of the Green party, has been on the Daily Politics this morning. She played down suggestions that her poor reputation as a media performer was a problem, saying she did not get nervous doing interviews, but she conceded that she did not have the “smoothness” that some other politicians have. Asked if this was a problem, she said it would be better if politics as a whole were done differently.
What we need to see is politics changing. That addresses much broader issues about the nature of our media, the nature of the way in which politics is covered. This isn’t a football game. It’s not about point scoring. What we need to see is exploration of issues and ideas and policies, and we need to see it not about personalities, but about those critical things for the future of our country.
12.37pm BST
Here is my colleague Heather Stewart’s story about the Osborne/Balls/Cable event.
Related: Osborne, Balls and Cable unite to argue case for remaining in EU
12.34pm BST
I missed the Shami Chakrabarti briefing about her inquiry into antisemitism in the Labour party but my colleague Anuskha Asthana was there. She has tweeted the main points.
Chakrabarti said that she would not be asking Ken Livingstone to give evidence, because he is already being investigated by the party over his comments about Hitler being a Zionist.
Shami Chakrabarti says antisemtism inquiry will report 2 months, deadline submissions of evidence June 10
Shami Chakrabarti will call Jeremy Corbyn to give evidence and reveals she did join Labour Party on day she was asked to do inquiry.
Asked if she will call Ken Livingstone - Chakrabarti says that she's been offered cooperation from all quarters.
But says won't call Livingstone as unfair given ongoing investigation
Chakrabarti argues that she joined Labour because she wanted the party to see she had its best interests at heart
12.26pm BST
On Sky News the Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary was asked to comment on Boris Johnson’s claim in his Telegraph column this morning that chief executives love the EU because it ensures cheap labour. O’Leary replied:
If you’re an airline you don’t have cheap labour. We have expensive pilots, expensive engineers, expensive cabin crew.
But, look, if I thought it was in Ryanair’s best interests, or if it was in the UK’s best interests, I would make more money if the UK left the European Union, I would be advocating Leave. The fact is, we don’t, and the reason why so-called captains of industry and the leaders of big companies want the UK to stay in is because we absolutely believe that that’s in the best interests of the UK economy, it is better for UK jobs, it’s better ultimately for our profits. And our profits in Ryanair get reinvested. We buy lots more new aircraft ...
12.08pm BST
At the Stansted event the Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary also said that air fares would rise if the UK left the EU. He said:
If Britain leaves the single market, Britain may be forced out of the open skies regime and air fares and the cost of holidays will rise. That’s not speculation, that’s a certainty.
12.05pm BST
Downing Street today said David Cameron stood by past criticisms of Trump but added that he would seek to maintain the UK’s close relationship with the US even if Trump becomes president. The prime minister’s spokesman said:
The PM has made his views on Donald Trump very clear. He disagrees with [Trump’s plans]. He continues to believe that preventing Muslims from entering the US would be divisive, stupid and wrong. He has also been clear that he will work with whoever is President of the United States.
12.00pm BST
And the Telegraph’s Michael Deacon points out that George Osborne, Ed Balls and Vince Cable all used the line about Brexit being a “one-way ticket to a poorer Britain”.
All 3 take turns to call Brexit "a one-way ticket to a poorer Britain". Hacks laugh at repetition. Osborne: "I think they've noticed, Ed"
11.59am BST
In the Q&A after his Ryanair speech George Osborne criticised Boris Johnson for his comment comparing the EU to Nazi Germany.
Osborne re Boris: "As someone who studied history, go for first hand sources - Lord Bramall landed at Normandy, said what needs to be said"
11.45am BST
Here is the full text of George Osborne’s speech at the Ryanair event.
And here is the Treasury’s news release about it.
11.39am BST
George Osborne, Ed Balls and Vince Cable were joined at the Stansted airport event by the Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary. O’Leary announced the creation of 450 new jobs in Britain as part of a $1.4bn (£976m) investment into Ryanair’s 13 UK bases, but said investment like this would be cut back if the UK left the EU.
It is this type of large-scale foreign inward investment that is helping to drive the UK economy and job creation. It is exactly this type of investment that will be lost to other competitor EU members if the UK votes to leave the European Union.
The single market has enabled Ryanair to lead the low-fare air travel revolution in Europe, as we bring millions of British citizens to Europe each year, and welcome millions of European visitors to Britain, and we are calling on everyone to turn out in large numbers and vote Remain.
.@Ryanair announcing almost £1bn UK investment & 450 new jobs –Michael O'Leary says investment at risk if we exit EU pic.twitter.com/hEvKByNRlV
11.25am BST
Here are some more lines from George Osborne’s speech
[The Bank of England and the IMF] join a line of observers that range from the OECD to the London School of Economics to the eight former US treasury secretaries to the president of the United States of America, to the prime minister of Japan, to the leaders of Australia and New Zealand.
Indeed every member of the G20, every one of our major trading partners and every major international financial institution has been unequivocal that leaving the EU would come at an economic cost.
New Treasury analysis shows that if we left the single market and relied on the rules of the WTO, then after 15 years we would be doing 200 billion less trade every year, in today’s terms, and we would miss out on over 200 billion of overseas investment into our country.
It means we don’t see the new jobs and facilities like we see here today at Ryanair. It means less investment in offices, factories, car plants, high street shops, local industrial estates.
11.13am BST
Here is ConservativeHome’s Mark Wallace on the Osborne/Balls/Cable event.
Osborne bringing out defeated enemies Cable and Balls to speak has a slight air of Caesar parading Vercingetorix through the streets.
11.11am BST
You can read all today’s Guardian politics stories here.
As for the rest of the paper’s, here is the PoliticsHome list of top 10 must-reads, and here is the ConservativeHome round-up of today’s politics stories.
Just 50 Tory MPs are needed to trigger a vote of no confidence in the leader.
Around 150 Conservative MPs are thought to back a Brexit, although a number of them have not publically stated their intentions.
The cross-party alliance of MPs who sought to impeach Tony Blair in the wake of the Iraq conflict is being reassembled for a fresh attempt after the publication of the Chilcot report.
Alex Salmond, the SNP’s foreign affairs spokesman, has begun to rally support for an attempted prosecution of Mr Blair, with the report due for release on July 6. Although some MPs believe the parliamentary impeachment process should be revived, Mr Salmond wants to approach the International Criminal Court
Lord Bramall said the comparison between Nazi Germany and the EU was absurd. “Hitler’s main aim was to create an empire in the East and violently subjugate Europeans,” he said. “Any connection between that and the EU is simply laughable.”
In their brilliant book Why Nations Fail, Daron Acemoglu and James A Robinson explain how transparent political institutions are essential for innovation and economic growth. They make the distinction between “inclusive” societies, where people feel involved in their democracies and their economies, and “extractive” societies, where the system is increasingly gamed by an elite, for their own financial advantage. The EU is starting to take on some of the features of an “extractive” society. It is dominated by a group of powerful international civil servants, lobbyists and business people.
These people, on the whole, know who each other are. In the case of big business, they can afford to hire someone to follow the regulation that comes out of Brussels. They can fix a meeting with the Commissioner responsible. They may even meet him or her at some conference or event – Davos being the most famous. In that respect they have an immense advantage over the vast majority of businesses in this country.
11.05am BST
And here are some excerpts from the speech from Vince Cable, the Lib Dem former business secretary.
Cable dig at Boris: "single market was not the vision of Hitler or napoleon- a vision of the British Government" under Thatcher.
Divorce can be amicable, says @vincecable; but usually "messy, nasty and costly: that's what would happen here". #Brexit
Cable says when he went to Detroit to persuade GM CEO to save Vauxhall Ellesmere Port - EU access essential. Nissan & single market too
.@vincecable just accused @BorisJohnson & @Nigel_Farage of "small condom" EU alarmism
11.01am BST
David Cameron has been tweeting about the Osborne/Balls/Cable event.
Great to see @George_Osborne, @edballs and @vincecable joining forces to campaign for something they all believe: we are stronger in the EU.
11.00am BST
In his speech at the Ryanair event Ed Balls, the former shadow chancellor who lost his Commons seat in the 2015 election, said that Brexit was a “one way ticket to a poorer Britain”. Here are some excerpts.
Balls praises Osborne for not taking "easier politics" path and challenging the brexiters in his own party
I didn't back € when others in my party wanted me to, says @edballs; @George_Osborne hasn't backed Brexit despite Tory pressure.
Slightly nervous performance from @edballs but said he + @vincecable have no axe to grind; Brexit is "one way ticket to a poorer Britain".
Vince + I more likely to be on Bake Off or Strictly than back in House of Commons, says @edballs - so not backing Remain for career reasons.
Ed Balls says Boris is 'attention seeking' with ill judged statements
.@edballs warns that leaving EU would see 17% increase in price of Adidas trainers
10.53am BST
The London Mayor Sadiq Khan has hit back against Donald Trump’s attack today on him as “very rude” and “very nasty” after Khan previously described the US presidential hopeful’s views on Islam as ignorant.
“I am afraid his views on Islam are ignorant,” he said. “He has played into the hands of extremists. He has played into their hands of those who think it is not possible to be western and a mainstream Muslim. He has played into the hands of those who think there is a clash of civilisations.”
I am not interested in Donald Trump picking a fight with me, but what I am clear about is his views on Islam are ignorant. Donald Trump said I would be the exception to his rule, that I would be the one Muslim that would be allowed to go to America. The point I made about Donald Trump making me the exception was that there is nothing exceptional about me. What about my friends and family, what about business people who want to go and do business in America and happen to be Muslim. What about young people who want to be students in America and happen to be Muslim. What about people who want to go on holiday to America and visit Disneyland. The views of Donald Trump and his advisers on Islam are ignorant.
10.48am BST
In his speech at the Ryanair event George Osborne, the chancellor, said that one of the defining moments in the campaign came in the 24-hour period when both the Bank of England and the IMF said that leaving the EU would make Britain poorer.
He said it was hard to think of more credible observers of the British economy than the Bank’s monetary policy committee and the IMF.
And what has been the response of the Leave campaign? They say it is all a massive conspiracy. So that’s everyone from Mark Carney to Christine Lagarde to Barack Obama to the entire editorial team at ITV to the staff at the IMF and OECD, to hundreds of economists, to a majority of leaders of small, medium and large firms - they think they are all part of some global stitch-up to give misinformation to the British people. The next think you know the Leave camp will be accusing us of faking the moon landings, kidnapping Shergar and covering up the existence of the Loch Ness monster.
The response to the sober economics from around the world by those who want to leave the EU has not been credible or serious.
10.25am BST
George Osborne, the chancellor, is standing alongside his former Labour shadow, Ed Balls, this morning at a pro-EU event. Vince Cable, the Lib Dem former business secretary, is with them too.
Osborne joined by old foes @edballs and Vince Cable to make case for Remain vote in #EUref pic.twitter.com/HP0wK79d2G
10.21am BST
Boris Johnson has been speaking this morning about the row generated by his comments comparing the EU to Nazi Germany.
Boris Johnson dismisses 'Hitler' row as "artificial media twit storm"
Boris Johnson says EU trying to re-create the dream of the Roman Empire "in a more bureacratic way"
Boris on that Hitler row https://t.co/SNYOjYOafr
9.41am BST
The Times’s red box morning email briefing has an interesting chart. It shows how likelihood to back Leave increases with age, and how 43 is the tipping point - the moment after which it becomes more likely that people will vote Out than In.
9.21am BST
The full Donald Trump interview is on the Good Morning Britain website.
When Piers Morgan, the presenter, asked Trump about Sadiq Khan calling him ignorant, Trump’s first response was: “Let’s do an IQ test.”
9.00am BST
And Sadiq Khan is not in the mood to back down either. Commenting on the Trump interview, a spokesperson for the London mayor said:
Donald Trump’s views are ignorant, divisive and dangerous. It’s the politics of fear at its worse.
It plays straight into the extremists’ hands and makes both our countries less safe.
8.56am BST
David Cameron will not be retracting his comments about Donald Trump’s plan to impose a temporary ban on Muslims entering the US. “The prime minister has made his views clear and we have nothing to add,” a Number 10 source said.
8.51am BST
Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican candidate for US president, has given an interview to this morning’s Good Morning Britain and he used it to have a go at both David Cameron and the new Labour mayor of London, Sadiq Khan.
He is still not happy about Cameron describing his proposal last year for a ban on Muslims entering the US as “divisive, stupid and wrong”. At a press conference earlier this month, after it became clear that Trump would be the Republican presidential candidate, Cameron refused to retract his comments. Asked how this would affect Washington-London relations is he became president, Trump replied:
It looks like we are not going to have a very good relationship. Who knows, I hope to have a good relationship with him but he’s not willing to address the problem either.
Well, number one I’m not stupid, Okay. I can tell you that, right now - just the opposite.
Number two, in terms of divisive: I don’t think I’m a divisive person. I’m a unifier, unlike our president now, I’m a unifier.
[Khan] doesn’t know me, hasn’t met me, doesn’t know what I’m all about. I think they were very rude statements and frankly tell him I will remember those statements. They are very nasty statements ...
When he won I wished him well. Now, I don’t care about him, I mean it doesn’t make any difference to me, let’s see how he does, let’s see if he’s a good mayor.
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