Tory rebels could ‘collapse the Government’ in vote on final Brexit deal, says Grieve

‘I wake up at 2am in a cold sweat thinking about the problems we have put on our shoulders’

TORY rebels yesterday admitted they could “collapse the Government” if they vote against Theresa May’s final Brexit deal as the Prime Minister insisted she was a woman of her word.

Dominic Grieve said he and his proeuropean colleagues could end Mrs May’s premiership as a row over Parliament’s role in Brexit negotiations intensified. Mr Grieve said the potential consequences of the stand-off with the Prime Minister over a demand to allow MPS to dictate the terms of Brexit negotiations if a deal with Brussels is rejected made him “wake up at 2am in a cold sweat”.

The rebels last week pulled an amendment to the Government’s flagship Brexit legislation to bolster the socalled “meaningful vote” on the final deal and hand MPS more power because they believed they had struck a compromise deal with Mrs May to secure something similar. But the Government said it had agreed to no such thing, prompting accusations Mrs May had reneged on the deal.

She set out an alternative plan which would give MPS a non-binding say on what should happen next in the event Parliament rejected the Brexit deal but crucially it failed to offer the ability to direct negotiations. Mrs May yesterday said she had not broken her word.

The House of Lords is expected to reinstate a “meaningful vote” amendment today to give Parliament more power as the EU (Withdrawal) Bill returns for further scrutiny. The Government has tabled its compromise amendment which it is trying to persuade pro-remain rebels to back in the Commons on Wednesday.

But Mr Grieve said the rebels were “quite determined that the meaningful vote pledge which was given to us has got to be fulfilled” as he conceded voting against the final Brexit deal could topple Mrs May. He said: “We could collapse the Government and I can assure you I wake up at 2am in a cold sweat thinking about the problems that we have put on our shoulders.”

Mr Grieve said MPS must be able to influence the terms of the Brexit negotiations if a deal is rejected because the alternative was signing up to a “slavery clause” to back an agreement “however potentially catastrophic it might be”. Mrs May met the rebels minutes before a potential vote on Mr Grieve’s “meaningful vote” amendment and convinced them not to proceed.

However, Remain MPS were left furious at the alternative amendment which has been brought forward.

Mrs May said yesterday: “I did indeed meet a group of my fellow MPS, I listened to their concerns and I undertook to consider their concerns and the next day I stood up in Prime Minister’s Questions and said I would put an amendment down in the House of Lords. I have done exactly that.”