British PM Theresa May pens open letter to Britons lauding Brexit deal
London, Nov 25 : British Prime Minister Theresa May has written a "letter to the nation" vowing to campaign with "heart and soul" for her Brexit deal once EU leaders sign off on it this weekend.
May, who hopes to seal the divorce agreement and outline of future ties with Europe at a Brussels summit Sunday, faces a daunting challenge winning the support of Britain's parliament.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that members of her own cabinet and EU diplomats are secretly working on "plan B" proposals, fearing lawmakers will reject the current deal.
But in the letter published in several newspapers, May insisted her agreement would "honour the result" of the 2016 referendum - when 52 per cent backed Leave - and be "a moment of renewal and reconciliation".
"It will be a deal that is in our national interest -- one that works for our whole country and all of our people, whether you voted 'Leave' or 'Remain'," May wrote on Saturday.
"It is a deal for a brighter future, which enables us to seize the opportunities that lie ahead." Reiterating Britain would be leaving the European Union on March 29 next year, she urged people to get behind the deal.
"Parliament will have the chance to do that in a few weeks' time when it has a meaningful vote on the deal," the prime minister said.
"I will be campaigning with my heart and soul to win that vote and to deliver this Brexit deal, for the good of our United Kingdom and all of our people."
May is struggling even to unite her ruling Conservatives, and Northern Irish parliamentary allies the Democratic Unionist Party, behind the plan.
Meanwhile, opposition parties including Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalists, have all vowed to vote against it.
According to the Sunday Telegraph report, several senior ministers are now plotting the parameters of a Norway-style relationship with Brussels.
It said senior EU figures are "war-gaming" how the bloc could extend Article 50 - the mechanism used to leave the bloc next March - to allow for various scenarios.
Among them is a possible second referendum.
Responding to May's letter, Labour MP Stephen Doughty said it was "completely false" to claim the only options were her agreement or no deal.
"By rejecting this deal, parliament can give the public a real choice in a people's vote between leaving the EU on these terms or sticking with the deal we've got inside the EU," he added.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
