14:50

The incoming president of the European commission, Ursula von der Leyen, has sent a second letter to Boris Johnson seeking a British nominee for the new commission by the end of the week after Downing Street missed a previous EU deadline.

The prime minister had already been asked to provide a name by Monday but the deadline came and went without any word from the UK government.

A spokeswoman for the commission said that Von der Leyen had sent a “reminder” on Tuesday morning of the UK’s obligations under the EU treaties and they expected a response “at any rate by the end of this week”. The spokeswoman said:

Time is running out. This is why the president-elect is expecting an answer very soon to this second letter.

A UK government spokesman said the letter had been received and a response was being considered.

There would have been no obligation on the UK to nominate a commissioner if it had left the EU on 31 October as originally planned, but Johnson’s decision to accept a Brexit extension - in accordance with the Benn act, and despite Johnson’s repeated claims that he would never agree to a delay - means the UK is now obliged to nominate someone.