May’s Brexit chief in bar blunder
Our top negotiator is overheard saying MPs will be given a choice between the PM’s deal ...or facing a long delay
THERESA May’s chief Brexit negotiator has predicted the Prime Minister will order a ‘long’ delay to Britain’s departure from the EU rather than allow a No Deal exit.
In extraordinary comments, Olly Robbins was overheard in a Brussels bar telling colleagues that Eurosceptic MPs will face a stark choice next month between backing Mrs May’s deal or opting for an extension to Article 50 – which set the leaving date – that could see Brexit delayed for years.
The alleged remarks – which were not disputed by Downing Street – appear to undermine Mrs May’s bid to keep both Brussels and Remainers in Parliament guessing about whether she would be willing to take the UK out without a deal next month. Allies believe the threat of No Deal is the only hope of securing concessions from Brussels. But ITV News reported that Mr Robbins was overheard predicting that MPs would be left facing a choice between Mrs May’s deal and a Brexit delay – with No Deal effectively off the table.
Over drinks at the bar in his Brussels hotel on Monday night, he was heard to say: ‘Extension [of Article 50] is possible, but if they don’t vote for the deal, the extension is a long one.’
Mr Robbins was also heard saying the controversial Irish backstop was designed as ‘a bridge’ to the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU, rather than a ‘safety net’ that would not be needed. His comments suggest the Prime Minister plans to pursue a customs union in all but name after Brexit – something she has always denied.
‘The big clash all along is the safety net,’ he was heard to say of the backstop. ‘We agreed a bridge but it came out as a safety net.’
No 10 last night declined to comment on ‘alleged remarks from a private conversation’. But his comments infuriated Eurosceptic MPs and led to calls for him to be sacked.
Tory MP Nigel Evans said: ‘If the suspicion is he’s undermining her in the way I believe he was, then I think we’d be better off without Olly Robbins.’ Fellow Eurosceptic Mark Francois said the chief Brexit negotiator ‘needs to be taken down a peg or four’.
He added: ‘The PM has said more than 80 times she wants to leave on March 29. It would be a massive breach of trust to delay and I don’t think she wants to. Which raises the question, who is in charge – is it the PM or is it Mr Robbins?’ In other developments: Mrs May told MPs she was will- ing to tear up the parliamentary rule book to ensure the UK leaves on March 29;
A Cabinet source told the Mail that up to 15 ministers were ready to quit at the end of this month to head off the threat of No Deal;
A cross-party group of MPs dropped a bid to force a Commons vote tomorrow on plans designed to block a No Deal Brexit – but warned it would return at the end of the month;
Cabinet Brexiteer Andrea Leadsom suggested the Government could soften its demands in order to strike a deal with Brussels;
Jeremy Corbyn accused the Prime Minister of trying to ‘blackmail’ MPs into backing her deal by ‘running down the clock’;
The European Commission announced plans, in the event of No Deal, to keep the Channel Tunnel rail link open on existing terms for three months;
Downing Street denied reports Mrs May could offer to quit in the summer in order to persuade Eurosceptic MPs to back her deal;
Mrs May played down the prospect of a soft-Brexit deal with Mr Corbyn, saying his tone ‘did not give much encouragement’.
The row over Mr Robbins’ comments threatened to overshadow Mrs May’s bid yesterday to bring time pressure to bear on both the EU and Remainers in Parliament.
She warned MPs she is ready to take Brexit talks to the brink, despite predictions it will increase the risk of a No Deal departure. Amid angry scenes in the Commons, the PM refused to rule out bringing back her deal in the final week of March, just days before Britain is due to leave.
Mrs May said both Parliament and the country need to ‘hold our nerve’ as she tries to secure concessions from Brussels to sweeten the withdrawal deal for Eurosceptics.
And, in a clear sign she is willing to take the talks to the wire, she said ministers could seek to bypass laws that give MPs 21 days to consider new international treaties, in order to ensure the UK leaves on time. Mrs May said: ‘The talks are at a crucial stage. We now all need to hold our nerve to get the changes [Parliament] requires and deliver Brexit on time.’
MPs will be asked to endorse the Government’s negotiating strategy tomorrow when Parliament holds a fresh series of votes on Brexit.
A cross- party group led by Labour’s Yvette Cooper and Tory Nick Boles gave Mrs May a stay of execution over their plan to block
‘Needs to be taken down a peg or four’
a No Deal Brexit next month. Instead of forcing a vote tomorrow, they gave the Prime Minister until February 27 to come back with a deal.
At that point they will force a vote that would require the PM to give Parliament a binding choice between No Deal and a Brexit delay. A similar bid lost by 23 votes last month.
But a Cabinet source told the Mail a group of 15 pro-Remain ministers was ready to jump ship. The source said Remainers in Government were ready to ‘pull the trigger’ and finally follow through on their threats to quit if Mrs May tries to ask for more time again at the end of February. ‘She’s bound us in to renegotiate, she’s got until the end of the month, but then that is it,’ the source said. ‘We have to show some leadership.’
Commons leader Mrs Leadsom yesterday indicated ‘legally binding’ changes were needed to the backstop, that critics fear could leave the UK trapped in a customs union. But asked whether this meant the withdrawal agreement with Brussels had to be reopened, she told the BBC: ‘The point is to ensure the UK cannot be held in a backstop permanently. How it’s achieved is not something to be purist about.’
Mrs May told MPs that changing the withdrawal agreement was the ‘obvious’ way to secure what was needed, but left the door open to different routes.