Labour and DUP unite to force May’s hand
THE Democratic Unionist Party will join Labour and other opposition parties tomorrow in a bid to force the Government to publish its legal advice on Brexit – a move that could delay the crucial vote on Theresa May’s plan.
In an explosive alliance that will rock the Government, Sir Keir Starmer, Labour’s shadow Brexit secretary, Nigel Dodds, the DUP’s Westminster leader, Tom Brake, the Liberal Democrats’ Brexit spokesman, and Stephen Gethins, the SNP’s Europe spokesman, will write a joint letter to John Bercow, the House of Commons Speaker.
The letter will insist that the Government is in contempt of Parliament for failing to publish the full Brexit legal advice from Geoffrey Cox, the Attorney General, that underpins Mrs May’s deal, and call for an urgent debate to resolve the constitutional row. Eurosceptics believe that the advice will warn that the UK cannot escape the EU customs union after Brexit. The row could delay the start of a marathon 40hour debate set over five sitting days on the Brexit deal, starting on Tuesday.
One senior Cabinet minister claimed that Mr Bercow “will try to thwart Brexit in any way that he can”.
The move risks eroding completely the trust between Tories and the DUP, whose 10 MPs are keeping Mrs May’s minority Government in office.
Separately, Sir Bill Cash, the chairman of the House of Commons European scrutiny committee, warns in this newspaper that Mrs May’s deal is open to challenge in the courts because it is “inconsistent” with the Withdrawal Act, and therefore “illegal”. He argues that Mrs May’s decision to keep the UK in a transition period until 2020 is “incompatible” with laws taking the UK out of the EU. It came as:
Senior government sources said they feared that Richard Harrington, a business minister, might quit over the deal in the wake of the resignation of Sam Gyimah, the universities minister, on Friday. Mr Harrington refused to comment;
Speculation was building that Mrs May will face a no-confidence vote in her Government next week from either Brexiteers unhappy with the deal if it is approved by MPs, or Remain-supporting Tories who fear no deal if the Withdrawal Agreement is voted down;
A group of City hedge fund managers was mulling a legal challenge to force the BBC or ITV to allow Boris Johnson, the former foreign secretary, to gatecrash a prime-time television debate on the deal next Sunday night;
Confusion surrounded the position of Penny Mordaunt, the International Development Secretary, who had to deny reports that she backed Mrs May’s
deal, with a friend saying she “has not backed the deal yet, but had said she will support the Prime Minister”;
Liam Fox, the Trade Secretary, launched an impassioned defence of Mrs May’s deal, warning Eurosceptic MPs that they risked “snatching defeat from the jaws of victory”.
The row over the legal advice has been caused by the Government’s insistence on publishing only “a reasoned position statement”, rather than the full advice, as it has been ordered to do by Parliament. A government legal figure confirmed Mr Cox “will not consent to release the full advice” tomorrow.
A draft of the letter, seen by The Sunday Telegraph, makes clear the MPs’ view that the Government’s statement “does not constitute the final and full advice provided by the Attorney General to the Cabinet”. It adds: “It does not comply with a motion of the House that you have ruled to be effective. We would now ask that you consider giving the House of Commons the opportunity to debate and consider this matter of contempt at the earliest opportunity.”
Writing in today’s Sunday Telegraph, Sir Keir says ministers “risk triggering a historic constitutional row that puts Parliament in direct conflict with the executive”. Mr Dodds said ministers were “snubbing Parliament” by not publishing the advice, adding that it was “an outrageous position for the Government to find themselves in and they have to be held to account”.
Government whips were on resignation watch after the shock decision by pro-EU Mr Gyimah to walk out on Friday night, claiming that Mrs May’s exit agreement was a “deal in name only”.
There were fears that Mr Harrington, another pro-EU minister, could also quit. Margot James, a pro-EU minister, also denied rumours that she would quit. Attention is now focusing on the terms of the Fixed Term Parliament Act, under which MPs can pass a vote of no confidence in the Government with a simple majority of MPs. There is speculation that either DUP MPs might table a motion of no confidence if the deal goes through, or pro-EU Tories who fear a no-deal exit might do the same if the deal is blocked.
Leave-supporting Cabinet ministers rallied to Mrs May’s support. Michael Gove, who chaired the Vote Leave campaign, will urge Tory MPs to back the deal in a tour of television studios today.
Writing for The Sunday Telegraph, Dr Fox says: “As Leave supporters, the choice we face isn’t between the deal the Prime Minister has reached or a deal we might like to reach. The choice is between this deal and the very real risk of no Brexit. If Parliamentary tactics are used to steal Brexit from the British people, faith will be lost in the very fabric of our democratic process.”
Jeremy Corbyn, the Labour leader, said he preferred ITV’s plans for a televised debate and said he would only appear on the BBC if it allowed only he and Mrs May without other figures on stage.