Ministers present May with Brexit ‘plan B’

LONDON: Cabinet ministers have drawn up a “plan B” for a no-deal Brexit in case Parliament votes down Prime Minister Theresa May’s plan to leave the European Union, The Sun reported on Friday.

The ministers have proposed that Britain continue to pay EU membership fees up to 2021 and follow the bloc’s rules to avoid a cliff-edge exit when it leaves in March, The Sun said.

The country would then be able to negotiate with Brussels as a “third country” for two years, making it easier to agree on a new free trade deal and avoid having to pay the full £38 billion (RM203 billion) divorce bill.

If a deal is voted down by Parliament, the country could be thrust into an uncertain future: leaving abruptly without a deal, the collapse of May’s government, an election, or, as some opponents of Brexit hope, a new referendum.