Mitchell: I won’t vote to break international law
The rule of law is incredibly important for our basic liberties and human rights.
BIRMINGHAM Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell has warned Boris Johnson he won’t vote for the Government’s new Brexit Bill as it stands.
Mr Mitchell, MP for the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, said: “I am not going to vote to breach international law.”
The MP, a former Chief Whip and International Development Secretary, will vote for a rebel amendment next week, if the Government does not give ground. But he said he hoped that Ministers would agree to make changes to the legislation before it comes to that.
The UK Internal Market Bill cleared its first Commons hurdle on Monday night, when MPs voted to give it a second reading.
The legislation is designed to pave the way for the next stage of Brexit, when the UK leaves the EU’s single market and customs union on December 31. But it’s controversial because it would give the Government the power to overturn elements of the Withdrawal Agreement signed by the UK and EU just last year.
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis has admitted that “this does break international law” but said it was only in “a very specific and limited way”.
A small number of Conservative MPs refused to back the Bill on its second reading, including Bromsgrove
MP and former Chancellor Sajid Javid. But others, like Mr Mitchell, are more likely to rebel in votes on amendments next week.
In particular, unless the Bill is changed, Mr Mitchell is set to vote for an amendment tabled by Tory backbencher Sir Bob Neill, chairman of the Commons Justice Committee, which would require a vote of Parliament before ministers can exercise the new powers.
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Mitchell said that breaking international law would make it much harder for the UK to speak out against abuses in other parts of the
Andrew Mitchell MP
world. He said: “Britain has been a beacon, in some very difficult places in the world, for support for the rule of law.
“Our support is relied on in that respect, and it matters, whether we are dealing with the rights of gay people in Uganda or ensuring the last vestiges of law in Zimbabwe, never quite snuffed out by dint of Britain’s strong support for the rule of law... the rule of law is incredibly important for our basic liberties and human rights, and failing to do so will do incalculable damage to our reputation all around the world.”
And he said the Bill could threaten peace in Northern Ireland. “I have been here long enough to remember the awful statements about violence in Northern Ireland, with innocent civilians maimed and worse.”
The legislation would ensure there are no restrictions on the movement of goods between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom, but this could lead to border restrictions between Northern Ireland and Ireland, which is seen as a threat to the peace process. Birmingham Labour MP Steve McCabe (Selly Oak) has said the legislation could undermine the Good Friday Agreement, the 1998 peace deal that ended most of the violence in Northern Ireland. He said: “People who remember the troubles know that we cannot take chances with Northern Ireland. We should not risk the security provided by the Good Friday agreement.” Mr McCabe also pointed out that the withdrawal agreement with the EU, which the Government now says is flawed, had been negotiated by Boris Johnson’s government.
He said: “Conservative Members won their seats by telling the electorate that they had secured a deal. The Prime Minister toured the country and TV studios telling us that it was a great deal; now he claims that it is full of flaws and holes.”
However, Meriden Conservative MP Saqib Bhatti spoke in favour of the legislation, and echoed the Government’s argument that the EU was using elements of the withdrawal agreement to attempt to bully the UK.
He said: “Clearly, the European Union is not acting in good faith.”
He added: “This Bill protects the Union and also says that Northern Ireland is part of our Union and is not a negotiating football. Our job is to strengthen the hands of our negotiating team. This Bill is a plan B, but it is a plan B that says we will not be bullied. It is a plan B that says that this is one mandate that the European Union cannot ignore.”