Top story: Rebel MPs hint they could vote for revised agreement

Good morning briefers. I’m Martin Farrer and these are the top stories today.

Some of Britain’s biggest corporate names have dealt a blow to Theresa May by pressing the panic button and reorganising their business operations in case of a no-deal Brexit. Sir James Dyson, the Brexit-backing billionaire, inflicted the biggest embarrassment for the prime minister when his company announced plans to “future-proof’” itself by moving its headquarters to Singapore. Our business columnist, Nils Pratley, says Sir James has chosen the moment of maximum Brexit pain for the PM to make the decision and must explain himself or people will think he is guilty of hypocrisy. Dyson was followed by historic cross-Channel ferry company P&O, which said its fleet would be re-registered under the Cypriot flag, and Sony said it was moving its European base from London to Amsterdam. The CBI said the corporate alarm bells showed that a no-deal Brexit “must be ruled out immediately”.

Back in Westminster, there was some hope that the government could avert the dreaded no deal after some rebel MPs hinted they would back No 10’s Brexit agreement in order to make sure Britain left the EU. The snag is that ministers will still have to find some way around the equally vexed Irish backstop problem. The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said for the first time that the UK and Ireland would have to negotiate a bilateral agreement on “full alignment” of customs if a no-deal Brexit went ahead. In Davos, former chancellor George Osborne has said he thinks a delay to Brexit is now the most likely outcome.

US shutdown hope – An end to the month-long partial shutdown of the US government could be in sight after Senate leaders said they would vote on two new funding measures tomorrow. A Republican-backed bill would meet Donald Trump’s demand for a $5.7bn wall along the Mexican border in exchange for temporary protections for young undocumented immigrants. The second would extend funding for the agencies that are currently closed through to 8 February. Minority leader Chuck Schumer hailed the second bill as a compromise that would allow 800,000 workers to be paid while talks continued on the wall.

Court crash – A failure of the court service’s IT system has caused thousands of cases to be been disrupted or delayed across England and Wales. The repeated crashes, which started last week, come as the ministry of justice is spending millions to promote online hearings to replace the legal profession’s traditional reliance on paperwork. Staff at the ministry were unable to send emails, jurors could not be enrolled and courts were left unsure of when some defendants were due to appear, leading to prosecutions being adjourned. The ministry said staff were “working hard” to restore access to the system.

Fuelling controversy – The UK gives more subsidies to fossil fuels than any other European Union country, according to a report that also shows that handouts for coal, oil and gas still far outstrip money for renewable energy. The study by the European Commission said the government gave €12bn (£10.5bn) a year to support fossil fuels in the UK, significantly more than the €8.3bn spent on renewable energy. By contrast, Germany provided €27bn for renewable energy, almost three times the €9.5bn given to fossil fuels. However, a significant part of the UK fossil fuel subsidies identified by the commission was in the form of the reduced 5% rate of VAT on domestic power bills, cut from 20%.

Hacked off – Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, are close to settling a phone-hacking claim with Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group just weeks before the case was due to go to trial. An agreement with News UK could avoid a high-profile trial over claims journalists at the Sun were involved in illegally obtaining voicemails. The newspaper denies the allegations. The media group has settled dozens of claims with celebrities over phone hacking by journalists in a scandal that led to the closure of the Sun’s sister paper, the News of the World, in 2011. Two “big ticket” claims by Liz Hurley and Heather Mills are due to go to trial on 4 February.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Andy and Julian Banner-Price

Far from Fawlty – For a town that inspired Fawlty Towers with a legendarily rude hotel owner, Torquay has come a long way. The 25, a six-bedroom B&B in the Devon town, has been voted the world’s best based on TripAdvisor ratings. Andy and Julian Banner-Price, who run the 25, said they were “absolutely thrilled” to win but it comes as no surprise to guests who helped it to the top with an array of glowing reviews. “They couldn’t do more for you. The attention to detail is just amazing,” said one.

Today in Focus podcast: Deadly air choking Delhi’s rickshaw drivers

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A Delhi rickshaw driver rides through heavy smog. Photograph: Prakash Singh/AFP/Getty Images

Delhi’s rickshaw drivers are on the frontline of the city’s most notorious problem: horrendous air pollution. The Guardian’s south Asia correspondent, Michael Safi, travels the city with Pandit, a driver whose exposure to the worsening air quality is affecting his health and his livelihood. Plus: Ana Adlerstein looks at the reality of life on the US-Mexico border in Arizona

Lunchtime read: Understanding populism (it’s not about migrants)

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Women join a gilets jaunes protest in Paris. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

With the rise of populism here and in Europe, we have an interesting piece from a French political analyst who says that his detailed study of public opinion for Emmanuel Macron’s En Marche! movement shows that immigration is not a major concern for disaffected voters. Guillaume Liegey worries that Macron’s suggestion that he will consider immigration quotas as part of his attempt to defuse the gilets jaunes movement risks misunderstanding voters’ main gripes. Rather, he reckons, these are job insecurity, worries about money and poor public services. Overall a sense of being left behind. It’s a strong read-across to our own troubles over Brexit, with Liegey warning that this year’s European elections will be a crucial test of whether the political classes have learned anything.

Sport

Serena Williams, her movement cramped late in the match by a rolled ankle, blew a 5-1 lead in the third set and a chance to equal the 24 slam titles of Margaret Court in a dramatic Australian Open quarter-final loss to Karolina Pliskova in Melbourne. Emiliano Sala, the Argentine footballer whose plane disappeared over the Channel as he was flying to Wales after signing for Cardiff, is being remembered as a humble man who enriched everyone’s lives. Usain Bolt will long be remembered as one of the greatest runners the world has ever seen, but he has finally given up on his dream of playing professional football, saying his “sports life is over”. In cricket, a grassy pitch with bare patches means England have some difficult choices to make for the first Test against West Indies starting later today in Bridgetown. Jonathan Joseph has been added to England’s Six Nations squad despite making only one appearance in the past nine months.

Business

There was more bad news for the high street as the Patisserie Valerie cafe chain collapsed into administration yesterday, placing more than 3,000 jobs at risk. it follows revelations of a £40m hole in its accounts. The FTSE 100 is expected to slip slightly at the open this morning while the pound has dropped overnight a bit to $1.295 and €1.139.

The papers

The Guardian leads on “Blow to May as companies press panic button”, taking in the decision by P&O, Dyson and Sony to relocate their businesses from Britain amid Brexit chaos.

The FT also splashes on Dyson’s decision: “Outspoken Brexit backer Dyson shifts company HQ to Singapore”. Also on the front page is a plug for the paper’s editorial, which argues in favour of a second referendum if MPs can’t agree on a deal. Dyson is also on the front of the Times, but the paper leads on “Courts in chaos as trials halted by IT breakdown.”

The rest of the papers take a break from Brexit. The Express urges: “Change cruel law to help the dying”. The Mirror goes with “Bulgers rage at Oscars insult”, after a film about the toddler’s murder was nominated for an Oscar. The Mail’s front page story is “Instagram helped to kill my daughter”. The Telegraph leads on the warning that “Daily dose of aspirin ‘not worth the risk’”. The Sun asks “Roo what?” in the headline for its story about American police officers saying that Wayne Rooney was speaking in “broken English” when he was arrested for drunkenness.

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