UK’s exit can be stopped – Starmer

Labour shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer has said Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union can still be halted.

In the event of a no-deal Brexit, Sir Keir said “all options must be on the table” – including a second referendum.

His comments appeared to be at odds with party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who said last week in an interview with a German magazine “we can’t stop Brexit”.

The Labour leader has also rejected a call by former transport minister Jo Johnson – who quit in protest at the government’s Brexit policy – for a second referendum.

However, Sir Keir insisted the Labour leadership was fully signed up to the position agreed at the party’s annual conference in Liverpool, including the option of another referendum.

“Brexit can be stopped. But the real question is: what are the decisions we are going to face over the next few weeks and months?” he said. “Decision one is on the deal. Decision two is if the deal goes down, should there be a general election? And decision three is, if there is no general election, all options must be on the table, including the option of a public vote. That is the clear position. Jeremy is signed up to it. I’m signed up to that.”

Mr Corbyn angered some Labour MPs over the weekend when he was asked whether there should be another referendum and replied: “Not really, no”, as “the referendum took place”.

Sir Keir acknowledged there were some “slightly different voices” within the party on the issue, but insisted “everybody has coalesced” around a common position.

Former prime minister Gordon Brown told an Institute for Government event in London: “Jeremy Corbyn, he would be the first to say that the conference decision is what he is going to uphold, whatever is said in a particular interview, and that is that we want to fight this out in the House of Commons and if necessary a general election, if necessary a referendum.”

He added: “Jeremy used to remind me when I was in government that we should be bound by conference motions. He always says he is bound by them.”

Picture: PA. Former prime minister Gordon Brown says “we want to fight this out in the House of Commons”.