Second EU vote if MPS don’t back agreement

A second referendum on the European Union may be needed if Parliament rejects Prime Minister Theresa May’s deal with Brussels, London mayor Sadiq Khan has said.

Mr Khan suggested that a “whole host of questions” would be raised if MPS and peers refused to back any agreement the Prime Minister secured. He also called for urgent action to secure a transitional deal, warning that businesses were not bluffing about plans to move overseas.

“The government has got to do a good deal with the European Union, and our Parliament, which is sovereign, must have a vote on that deal,” Mr Khan said.

“If Parliament decides to accept the deal that our government makes, then we are leaving the European Union. If Parliament rejects the deal made by our government, then that opens up a whole host of questions.”

He told the BBC that businesses were already making contingency plans to leave the capital due to a lack of clarity about the future of UK-EU trade.

Responding to comments by the chief executive of Goldman Sachs casting further doubt its future in the City after Brexit, Mr Khan said: “My fear is other businesses could be thinking about leaving London.”