Backstop is ‘bad for Britain’, May told
PM’S most trusted negotiator warned her of consequences in letter seen by Telegraph
THERESA MAY’S chief Brexit adviser warned her that the customs backstop would be a “bad outcome” for the UK which would lead to regulatory checks in the Irish Sea and put security co-operation at risk, The Daily Telegraph can reveal.
Oliver Robbins said in a letter to the Prime Minister that there was no legal “guarantee” that Britain would be able to break off from the backstop, potentially leaving the UK trapped in a customs union with the European Union.
He argued that extending the transition period after Brexit would provide a more “cast-iron escape route” than entering into the backstop, which under Mrs May’s deal will kick in if a solution to the Irish border issue cannot be found by December 2020.
He said: “We should not forget that the backstop world, even with a UK-EU customs union, is a bad outcome with regulatory controls needed somewhere between GB and NI, serious and visible frictions and process between GB and the EU, and no security co-operation provided for.”
Mr Robbins will be quizzed today by MPS on the Brexit select committee alongside Stephen Barclay, the new Brexit Secretary. Leaked details of the letter, passed to The Telegraph by a concerned minister, will increase pressure on the Prime Minister as she faces a huge Tory rebellion over her deal ahead of a crunch Commons vote next week.
One hundred Tory MPS have criti- cised the deal, while on Friday, Sam Gyimah, then the universities minister, became the seventh member of Government to quit since she published the EU Withdrawal Bill.
Tomorrow, the Government will face the first of five days of gruelling debate about the Prime Minister’s Brexit plan, which will be criticised by MPS on all sides of the Commons.
Priti Patel, a leading Eurosceptic Tory MP and former Cabinet minister, said: “When even the architect of this agreement appears to be saying this is a bad deal, colleagues must seriously question how they can vote for this.
“This only makes a stronger case for MPS to see the Attorney General’s full legal advice before being asked to vote on this terrible deal. It also raises serious questions as to what other information are they hiding from MPS.”
Mrs May faces a cross-party backlash today for refusing to publish the full legal advice on her deal, with leaked details over the weekend suggesting the backstop could “endure indefinitely”.
Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, will instead publish a more limited “position” statement with a summary of the legal advice despite warnings that he will be in “contempt of Parliament”.
Writing in The Telegraph, Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, states that it is a “scandal” that the advice is being withheld and describes the backstop as a “great steel leg-hold trap”.
Under the terms of the Prime Minister’s Brexit deal, the backstop will
come into force in December 2020 if a deal cannot be reached that ensures there will not be a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Both sides are then expected to demonstrate “best endeavours” – equivalent to acting in good faith – towards reaching an agreement that brings the backstop to an end.
However, a letter from Mr Robbins to the Prime Minister, dated Oct 19, states that the EU will be under no legal “obligation” to end the backstop.
Mr Robbins said that the clause “is not a guarantee and it can never be” because doing so would “bind” the future decision-making of the EU. He added that although “best endeavours” is recognised in international law, the clause is “stopping short of being an obliga- tion to go on and conclude a treaty”.
The Prime Minister has repeatedly used the “best endeavours” clause to defend her deal.
Last month Emmanuel Macron, the French president, threatened to keep the UK in the backstop if it fails to allow EU boats into British waters. Downing Street said that it would represent a “breach of good faith” and the UK would refer the matter to the arbitration panel.
Mrs May will today update the Commons on her trip to the G20 summit in Argentina, saying that after Brexit was achieved Britain would be “open for business and that we are looking forward to future trade agreements”.
Sajid Javid, the Home Secretary, will also today defend the Prime Minister’s deal by saying that it will “deliver” on ending free movement after Brexit.
Yesterday Michael Gove, the Environment Secretary, also defended the deal – but refused to rule out pivoting to a Norway-style Brexit if Mrs May’s deal is voted down in Parliament amid concerns that no-deal will damage the economy. He suggested that her deal was “better” than a Norway-style option which is being suggested by ministers, but repeatedly refused to rule out the idea. He is one of eight Cabinet ministers who have held talks about Norway.
During an appearance on the BBC’S The Andrew Marr Show, Mr Gove said this option was “better than EU membership”, while warning that voting down Mrs May’s deal could lead to “no deal or no Brexit”.
“We would undoubtedly go through a period of turbulence,” he said, but added that some of the “blood-curdling warnings” being issued are “not quite right”.
Mr Gove also accused second refer-
endum campaigners of treating those who voted Leave as if they are “thick” and opened a new split with Philip Hammond after disputing the Chancellor’s claims that Britain will be worse after Brexit.
Mr Gove said the Treasury’s economic analysis issued last week was “not definitive” and “not an oracle”, and did not factor in any action the Government could take, adding it had led to disagreement with the Chancellor.
“This is a rare occasion when there is a scintilla of difference between myself and Philip [Hammond] in that I think that we can do better outside the European Union.”