REVOLTING

MPs urged to back Brexit bill

REBELS in a key Commons vote last night were warned they would be backing a “chaotic” Brexit.

The EU Withdrawal Bill, which will end the supremacy of EU law in the UK, was being debated at Westminster.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson urged MPs not to “frustrate” the process, suggesting the public wanted the Government to “get this thing done”.

Brexit Secretary David Davis said the measures in the bill would mean the UK could leave the EU “safe in the knowledge we are ready for day one of exit”. And he warned: “A vote against this bill is a vote for a chaotic exit from the European Union.”

Jeremy Corbyn is facing a rebellion over Labour’s opposition to the bill with two exministers vowing to defy the Labour whip.

Mr Corbyn said he respected the outcome of last year’s Leave vote but said he could not back the measure as he believed the Government was trying to evade parliamentary scrutiny and “grab” powers.

The Lib Dems were also planning to vote against the bill but the Government has the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, with whom they have a deal to secure a Commons majority.

Debate on the bill, at second reading, was continuing late into the night. It overturns the 1972 European Communities Act which took the UK into the then European Economic Community.

It will convert all existing EU laws into UK law, to ensure there are no gaps in legislation on Brexit day.

Ministers say this process will ensure a smooth transition. Critics say ministers are handing themselves sweeping powers to change laws without scrutiny.

Labour MP Caroline Flint, a former minister for Europe, is refusing to vote against the bill despite the three-line whip imposed by her party.