Theresa: Final deal on Brexit 95% there
A DEAL to take britain out of the EU is ‘95 per cent settled’, Theresa May will tell MPs today.
In an upbeat assessment, she will try to dispel suggestions talks have stalled after a series of setbacks.
The Prime Minister will set out a string of areas where there is consensus, including ‘broad agreement on the structure and scope of the future relationship’ and agreement on how disputes between the two sides will be resolved after brexit.
‘Taking all of this together, 95 per cent of the withdrawal agreement and its protocols are now settled,’ she will say.
It comes as Mrs May is threatened by a potential Commons rebellion on Wednesday that could derail her plans for resolving the Northern Ireland border issue, which is seen as the last major sticking point. Last night she also faced a Cabinet revolt after attempting to shore up support for her brexit plans during an hourand-a-half long conference call with her ministers, the daily Telegraph reported.
Work and Pensions Secretary Esther McVey was said to have told the PM she was ‘devastated’ over the plan to extend the brexit transition period. Home Secretary Sajid Javid was said to have directly asked Mrs May if she had ‘explicitly threatened the EU with no deal’.
one source said of the meeting last night: ‘It raised more questions than answers.’ Mrs May’s hardline critics faced condemnation themselves yesterday after they suggested she would face a ‘show trial’ this week at which she would be well advised to ‘bring her own noose’.
one Eurosceptic MP even told The Sunday Times Mrs May was entering the ‘killing zone’, while another said: ‘ The moment is coming when the knife gets heated, stuck in her front and twisted. She’ll be dead soon.’
The chilling imagery provoked widespread condemnation. Former brexit minister Steve baker distanced himself from them, while Eurosceptic former cabinet minister Theresa Villiers described the comments as ‘really disturbing’.
Robert Halfon, a proRemain former minister who has been critical of Mrs May’s style, added: ‘This is not the way to change things. This just confirms what many in the public thinks of us, that we’re all out for ourselves and not on the side of working people.’
However, brexit minister Suella braverman told Sky News: ‘Colleagues are free to express themselves in the way they wish.’ Mrs May will face down her mutinous MPs today when she gives an update in Parliament on last week’s EU summit.
downing Street yesterday said she had not yet decided whether to attend a meeting of the backbench 1922 Committee on Wednesday, when rebels have promised the ‘show trial’ over her brexit concessions. It was reported last night that up to 46 Tory MPs have sent a letter demanding a leadership contest, two short of the 48 needed.
She already faces a potential clash with Eurosceptic MPs on Wednesday when they are threatening to back amendments to the Northern Ireland bill that could scupper negotiations with the EU on the so-called Irish backstop.
The amendments, tabled by Mr baker, would make it illegal to impose new regulatory checks between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. Ministers were last night taking legal advice on the potential impact before deciding whether to accept the changes or fight them.
The row came as brexit Secretary dominic Raab said britain had just five weeks to agree a deal with brussels to allow new laws to be put in place in time for exit day. The brexit Secretary urged disgruntled Tory MPs to ‘play for the team’, telling the bbC’s Andrew Marr Show: ‘The end is in sight in terms of a good deal.’ Former brexit Secretary david davis also urged Mrs May to play tough by threatening to ban European airlines from flying over the UK in the event of a no-deal exit.