Remain plot to thwart Brexit deal

FULL details of a plot by rebel MPs to seize control of Brexit can be revealed today.

If Theresa May loses tomorrow’s ‘meaningful’ vote, plans for leaving the EU would be passed to a panel of senior backbenchers.

The liaison committee, which is dominated by Remainers, would be charged with drawing up new Brexit legislation.

If Mrs May failed to implement their plans, the MPs could try to extend – or even revoke – Article 50, meaning the UK would not leave the EU on March 29. A Cabinet

minister said the move was a ‘copperbottomed, bullet-proof plan to sink Brexit which relies on the fact the Government has no majority and that the Speaker will bend the rules’.

A draft Bill, which sources say has been drawn up by former ministers Nick Boles and Sir Oliver Letwin, is to be published this evening.

It would allow MPs to seize control of what laws can be put before the Commons if Mrs May is defeated tomorrow. The Prime Minister would be given only 21 days to come up with an alternative plan. If none is found, the liaison committee would take over.

It comprises the chairmen of the 36 select committees, of whom 27 backed Remain and nine Leave. The committee is headed by Tory MP Sarah Wollaston, who is calling for a second referendum.

The Government would then have a duty to deliver on that plan and the deadline for leaving the EU could be

‘Overturn the way democracy works’

extended beyond March 29. The plotters are also considering whether Article 50 could be revoked completely.

Andrea Leadsom said the move by proEU MPs was ‘incredibly dangerous’ and would change the way Parliament worked.

The plotters want backbench motions to take precedence over Government business if Mrs May’s deal is defeated tomorrow. This would strip ministers of control and put Brexit at risk.

In other developments in what could be the most momentous week in British politics since the Second World War:

Four Tory MPs last night came out in support of the Prime Minister’s withdrawal agreement because of concerns about the threat to Brexit if it is voted down;

The Prime Minister will today say she believes Parliament is more likely to block Brexit than allow a no-deal departure;

Jeremy Corbyn said he would put down a vote of no confidence in the Government if the deal is rejected tomorrow;

The Labour leader suggested he would keep Britain’s borders open to migrants if he took power;

Tory rebel Dominic Grieve teamed up with Lib Dem leader Sir Vince Cable to publish draft legislation for a second referendum;

The European Union’s two top leaders are today expected to publish letters reassuring MPs the Irish border backstop will be time-limited;

Brussels sources claimed the EU was preparing to delay Brexit until July after concluding Mrs May would lose the meaningful vote.

Sir Oliver Letwin refused to comment yesterday on claims that he is helping to lead the plot to rewrite the Commons rules. The Tory former minister is believed to be meeting this evening with colleagues who want to prevent a no-deal Brexit. Nick Boles, another former minister, is said to have been invited.

Mrs Leadsom, who as Leader of the House is in charge of setting the timetable for Parliament, said it was wrong to undermine ‘centuries of convention and the rulebook’.

She added: ‘The reason why our Parliament is looked up to around the world is because we have the right balance between the executive, the Government who proposes legislation and the timetable, and then a very strong tradition of scrutiny.

‘The very idea that somehow you should change that so that no longer is the order of business determined by the Government, but that it should be determined by those who did not win the general election – that I think would significantly threaten the relationship between the people and those who govern them.

‘There are some people who say Brexit is such a big issue that it does not matter, we need to do this, but the reality is that it would be to overturn the way in which our whole democracy works.

‘I am incredibly concerned about it. I am a huge supporter of Parliament and the rights of Parliament, but to overturn the way we run our democracy is in an incredibly dangerous prospect.’

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling said it would be a huge mistake for MPs to take control of the Brexit process from ministers. ‘My message to anyone who is thinking of that is, this is not a one-off over Brexit. You would change the whole nature of the passage of legislation in the future,’ he told BBC 5 Live.

‘It would cause long-term problems for governments of all persuasions to get legislation through. It would change the whole nature of our parliamentary system.’

Mr Boles dismissed talk of a plot, saying: ‘Apparently I am planning a coup. Odd sort of coup that requires a majority of democratically elected MPs to vote for it before the tanks start rolling.’

Pro-EU Tory MP Anna Soubry accused No 10 of spreading fake news in order to scare Conservative colleagues from voting against the PM’s plan.

Mrs May will today use a speech to factory workers in Stoke to warn that trust in politicians will suffer ‘catastrophic harm’ if they fail to implement the result of the referendum.

Downing Street’s strategy of highlighting how ministers could lose control if the PM’s deal is voted down appeared to bear fruit last night as four Tory Brexiteers who had previously been wavering came out in support.

Comment – Page 14