UK running out of time over deal and could be left in ‘legal limbo’

BRITAIN could crash out of the EU without a deal if negotiation talks are not finished in October because there will not be enough time to agree new laws, ministers fear.

Senior government figures, including minister Suella Braverman, held crisis talks with Commons leader Andrea Leadsom this week to thrash out a plan, amid growing fears Parliament will not be able to enact Brexit before deadline day next March.

Without the passage of the Withdrawal and Implementation Bill, the UK could be forced out without a deal as there would be no legal mechanism to underpin an agreement with the EU.

Ms Leadsom is understood to have been warning ministers of the impending danger, which some believe could leave the country in “legal limbo” for weeks, but they have been focused on rows about a meaningful vote.

If ministers are forced to try to rush the new rules through the Commons, MPS could be made to sit through the night over recess, and debate could be cut from eight days to just one, sources said. They fear a widespread rebellion as a result. A senior Commons source said even if officials agree a deal in October, there is barely enough time to get the legislation through Parliament, prompting fears of a constitutional crisis that could bring down Theresa May.

Those present are understood to have raised questions about what happens if there is no bill by March 2019, including whether the Article 50 process would proceed regardless.

Experts are now working on answers and contingency plans, the Telegraph understands, but critics say it could already be too late.

A source said the meeting on Tuesday “was real doomsday stuff that left Brexit ministers in no doubt that time is really running out”.

The crisis talks focused on fears that negotiations between the UK and EU could continue into November, delaying the new bill that is designed to bring into law everything agreed by both sides, as well as agree how much money will be handed to Brussels.

Ministers fear Brussels would refuse to halt Article 50 if the new law was not ready in time. A Commons source said: “The understanding is that if we leave without the Withdrawal and Implementation Bill, we leave without a deal.

“We’d end up in legal limbo because this bill delivers the agreement; without it we have no idea what would happen next, nor what the EU would do.”

A government spokesman said: “We are constantly assessing the parliamentary timetable to ensure all the required bills are passed before our exit from the EU.

“While we share with the EU the intention to agree a deal by October, we are ready for all scenarios.”