Leaked legal advice on Brexit deal reveals no end date to backstop arrangement
The government is under pressure from Labour to publish the full legal advice paper on the Brexit deal or could face a “constitutional crisis”, as a draft of the report was leaked on Monday morning revealing no end date for backstop arrangement.
Part of the legal advice paper was leaked on Monday and revealed that the UK will face a “a practical barrier” to striking a trade deal with third countries if it falls into the backstop customs arrangements, reported the Guardian.
Attorney General Geoffrey Cox was set to publish an edited version of the legal advice on Monday, a 43-page summary of the report. His statement to the House of Commons will be followed by five days of debate on the deal.
In the summary there are no signs of the words "indefinite" or "indefinitely" regarding the prospect of the UK being stuck in the backstop arrangement for a long period of time. According to reports from the Sunday Times, the government supressed these details in their summary.
The Sunday Times claims that in a letter to cabinet ministers last month, Geoffrey Cox declared: “The protocol would endure indefinitely.”
On page 26 of the summary however the legal advice does reveal that if the UK signs the agreement "it does not contain any provision on its termination. In the absence of such a provision, it is not possible under international law for a party to withdraw from the agreement unilaterally."
The PM said the advice is confidential, but some MPs think ministers do not want to publish the paper because it could reveal a “bad outcome” for the UK and admit the country will be indefinitely tied to EU customs rules.
Labour is planning to join forces with other parties, including the DUP, which has been propping up May’s government, to initiate contempt of Parliament proceedings unless the government publishes the legal advice in full.
Shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer told Sky News: "If they don't produce the advice on Monday then we will start contempt proceedings. This will be a collision course between the government and Parliament."
The DUP's Sammy Wilson said it was important to know exactly what they are voting for on 11 December and especially for the Northern Irish party since it could involve certain implications for the region. "What we need to know is what legal advice has been given to the government about the extent of how Northern Ireland will be stuck in the backstop… [and] how do you get out of this backstop," he said.
Ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, in his Daily Telegraph column, also called on the government to publish the advice in full.
Theresa May is reportedly set to begin a charm offensive to win over Conservative MPs in dozens of face-to-face meetings before vote on the deal to try and get it approved by parliament.