Law to push back Brexit date ‘correct’

The government has insisted a proposed law change altering the Brexit date is “legally correct”, in response to concerns raised by lawyers.

The European Council last week set a deadline of Friday for the Prime Minister to secure parliamentary approval for her Withdrawal Agreement if the UK is to leave the EU with a deal on 22 May. If Theresa May cannot get it through the Commons, then the UK has until 12 April to propose a different approach or crash out of the EU without a deal.

Leader of the House of Commons Andrea Leadsom announced that MPS would debate and vote on legally changing the date of Brexit today.

In the House of Lords however, ministers were pressed over the legality of the statutory instrument (SI) used to change the exit day of the UK’S withdrawal from the EU from 29 March to a new date.

Seeking assurances from the government, independent crossbencher Lord Pannick warned that adopting an invalid piece of secondary legislation on such a critical matter would be “a complete and absolute disaster”.

Lord Pannick said: “A number of lawyers have expressed concern about the legality of this statutory instrument and the concern is that the statutory instrument sets out two alternative exit days – either 12 April or 22 May.

“The legal concern which some lawyers have expressed is that a power to specify the day and time when the treaties are to cease to apply is not satisfied by identifying two possibilities and ... it is therefore not possible.”

Lord Pannick called on the government to give an assurance that it had considered this point.

Conservative leader in the Lords Baroness Evans of Bowes Park, who sits in the Cabinet, promised to consider the points he had raised, and said: “We are confident that the instrument is legally correct.”