Brexit’s legal eagle

Just a few months ago, few people outside the Bar had heard of Geoffrey Cox QC, a successful barrister who entered Parliament only in 2005. He was appointed Attorney General last year and sprang to prominence as the “warm up” act ahead of Theresa May’s party conference speech. Suddenly, he is the central character in the greatest political drama of modern times. It falls to Mr Cox to decide the fate of Brexit.

He has been tasked with persuading the EU to agree to changes to the backstop in the Withdrawal Agreement. This would be a significant achievement in itself since Brussels has so far insisted it would not reopen the legal text. Furthermore, it places Mr Cox in the difficult dual role of negotiator and legal arbiter of any bargain that he strikes. As we report today it appears that he has been unsuccessful in getting the EU to agree a time-limit on the backstop.

His challenge now is to persuade Eurosceptics that the changes the EU might agree to, such as an enhanced arbitration mechanism, are sufficient to meet their objections. Leavers opposed to Mrs May’s deal have previously insisted the backstop be removed from the agreement but now appear ready to accept alternatives that give legal certainty about its temporary nature.

They will be looking to Mr Cox to provide that certainty and have established their own team of constitutional lawyers to test his interpretation against their demands for “a clearly worded, legally binding, treaty-level clause” to escape the backstop. They also want a clear and unconditional route out of the backstop if future trade talks break down. It is a huge responsibility on Mr Cox’s shoulders. We wish him luck.