Plot to DELAY Brexit AGAIN
Conservative rebels ‘trying to sabotage UK leaving EU by October 31’
TORY rebels are plotting to sabotage Boris Johnson’s Brexit by forcing a delay to the October 31 leaving date – even if the British prime minister wins support in the House of Commons for a deal with the EU.
Former cabinet ministers Philip Hammond and Dominic Grieve are central to moves to compel Mr Johnson to send a letter to Brussels asking for an extension to the UK’s membership, regardless of the outcome of this week’s high-stakes Brexit diplomacy in Brussels.
The plot, which threatens to throw the prime minister’s plans for a snap post-Brexit election into disarray, caused fury in No10, which last night accused Mr Hammond of trying to ‘sabotage’ Mr Johnson’s ‘do or die’ Halloween exit date.
The move came amid cautious optimism in Downing Street about the prospects of a last-minute
‘Hammond is trying to sabotage leaving the EU’
breakthrough in negotiations this weekend over a new customs arrangement for Northern Ireland, which could be approved at Thursday’s critical EU summit in time for MPs to vote for next Saturday.
Sources said that Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionist Party and the Irish government were ‘engaging’ with the idea of removing the need for a border with the Republic by keeping the province inside the EU’s customs umbrella while allowing it to benefit from the UK’s post-Brexit trade deals.
However, Tory MPs in the hardline European Research Group and many ministers remain in the dark about what exactly Mr Johnson has put on the table.
And last night, Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s Westminster leader, repeated his demand that Northern Ireland must leave the EU Customs Union with Britain, with No 10 seeking to reassure him by making private promises this was still a negotiation ‘red line’. The Brexit plan is expected to be discussed by French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel over dinner in Paris this evening ahead of the Brussels summit.
But without a Commons majority, Mr Johnson will be forced to rely on both Labour rebels and the votes of many of the 21-strong group of former Tory MPs who controversially lost the whip last month when they voted to block a No Deal Brexit.
The Mail on Sunday understands that the group, which includes former pensions secretary Amber Rudd, is split over whether to vote for the deal – with one prominent member warning that it looked like a ‘pretty hard Brexit’ for Britain even if it amounted to a ‘very, very soft Brexit’ for Northern Ireland.
However, there is more of a consensus that Mr Johnson should be forced to delay Brexit, even if he wins MPs’ backing for the deal.
The delay faction, which includes Mr Hammond, argues that the prime minister should not be allowed to take the UK out of the EU at the end of the month without the Commons being given more time to examine the deal and pass the necessary legislation. A source close to the former chancellor said: ‘There is a distinction between parliament “approving” the broad outline of a deal in a simple motion and parliament legislating for a deal.
‘The fact is that the latter is not possible in the time remaining, so the Benn Act will come into force to allow some time to legislate and finalise the deal.’
The source added that the Benn Act – the law passed by pro-Remain MPs to compel Mr Johnson to request a Brexit delay if he had not secured a deal by October 19 – ‘has clearly forced the prime minister to finally devote time and energy into securing a deal’.
Last night, in response, a senior government source said: ‘As Chancellor, Hammond sabotaged the negotiations and sabotaged preparations to leave – now he’s trying to sabotage leaving altogether.’
But Mr Hammond’s stance was backed by Tory former attorney general Dominic Grieve, who
insisted Mr Johnson would have to accept a delay even if his deal passed.
Mr Grieve said: ‘He’s going to have to extend. I cannot see how he would be justified in trying to force through a major piece of constitutional legislation, the Withdrawal Agreement Act, in seven days. It’s improper.’
Another of the Tory rebels said: ‘It’s hard to see how he [Mr Johnson] can get all of this done by October 31 realistically.
‘At a practical level, I think it would be extraordinary if the draft text could be finalised before then and you cannot begin to do the legislation until that’s been done.
‘I don’t see it’s feasible to leave on October 31. I can’t see how we could with confidence pass the necessary motion next Saturday which means that the Benn Act provisions do not apply,’ the rebel added.
‘It might be a technical extension but you still might require a couple of months just to have time to agree the legal text and take the legislation through. I think the letter [to delay] will still be needed.’
Mr Johnson’s Brexit negotiator David Frost was holed up in Brussels talks last night that will continue throughout today before his EU counterpart briefs member states on the progress of talks.
There are fears that reopening the Withdrawal Agreement to remove the Northern Irish backstop with Mr Johnson’s new customs plan could mean 11th hour demands from other EU countries when the UK is most vulnerable.