Labour plans will ‘wreck’ a no deal Brexit

LABOUR has been accused of plotting to hold up preparation for a “no deal” Brexit after John McDonnell suggested the party may block key legislation.

The shadow chancellor indicated that the party was preparing to amend or “send back” regulations ministers are intending to rush through Parliament to prepare for a possible clean break from the bloc next March.

Senior Tories said the plan amounted to a “calculated move to wreck no deal preparation” in an attempt to force the collapse of the government.

Mr McDonnell suggested that Labour wanted to force debates on statutory instruments in order to build in greater rights for workers and consumers.

“One of the things you need to look at... is the statutory instruments that are now going through on a massive scale... If you remember they predicted about 800. Some of them are looking like major pieces of almost primary legislation,” he said. “We’ll be looking at how we can use those statutory instruments to highlight the need for greater protections, particularly around employment, environmental and consumer rights. It means trying to get it back on to the floor of the House as much as we possibly can so that members across the House can take a view, rather than just having them nodded through.”

Priti Patel, the former cabinet minister, said: “Labour want to play around with parliamentary procedure for political gain. It will undermine the certainty that the British public and businesses need to see.”

Edward Malnick