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Brexit backstop plan is calculated risk - Geoffrey Cox Brexit backstop plan is calculated risk - Geoffrey Cox
(35 minutes later)
The UK would be "indefinitely committed" to EU customs rules if Brexit trade talks broke down, the chief law officer has said.The UK would be "indefinitely committed" to EU customs rules if Brexit trade talks broke down, the chief law officer has said.
But Geoffrey Cox said it would not be in either side's political interests to allow that to happen.But Geoffrey Cox said it would not be in either side's political interests to allow that to happen.
The attorney general said it was a "calculated risk" and "I do not believe we will be trapped in it permanently".The attorney general said it was a "calculated risk" and "I do not believe we will be trapped in it permanently".
Labour accused him of "hiding" the full legal advice on the Brexit deal "for fear of the political consequences".Labour accused him of "hiding" the full legal advice on the Brexit deal "for fear of the political consequences".
It came after Mr Cox published an overview of his legal advice on Brexit, which he described to MPs as a "commentary".It came after Mr Cox published an overview of his legal advice on Brexit, which he described to MPs as a "commentary".
The Northern Ireland "backstop" is a last resort plan designed to prevent a return to a visible border on the island of Ireland, with both the UK and the EU saying they want to avoid anything which puts the peace process at risk. Labour is leading a cross-party bid - including the Lib Dems, the SNP, the Democratic Unionist Party, Plaid Cymru and the Green Party - to get Mr Cox to publish his full advice.
Labour's shadow Brexit secretary Sir Keir Starmer said they had "been left with no option but to write to the Speaker of the House of Commons to ask him to launch proceedings of contempt".
MPs voted last month to require the government to lay before Parliament "any legal advice in full".
Mr Cox mounted an impassioned defence of his decision not to publish the full advice, insisting it would not be "in the national interest" to break a longstanding convention that law officers' advice to ministers is confidential.
He said he would answer all MPs' questions and there was no cover-up, adding: "There is nothing to see here."
He angrily told MPs calling for it to be published to "grow up and get real", prompting Green MP Caroline Lucas to accuse him of indulging in "amateur dramatics" and turning the debate into a "farce".
Nigel Dodds, leader of the Democratic Unionist Party at Westminster, told Mr Cox MPs needed to see the full legal advice he had given to the government - and denounced the Irish "backstop" plan as "deeply unattractive".
The Northern Ireland "backstop" is a last-resort plan designed to prevent a return to a visible border on the island of Ireland, with both the UK and the EU saying they want to avoid anything which puts the peace process at risk.
It would be triggered if no trade deal has been agreed with the EU that avoids the need for a hard border by the end of the 21-month transition period after 29 March's official departure date.It would be triggered if no trade deal has been agreed with the EU that avoids the need for a hard border by the end of the 21-month transition period after 29 March's official departure date.
It would keep the whole of the UK tied to EU customs rules, unless the two sides come up with another way of avoiding border checks.It would keep the whole of the UK tied to EU customs rules, unless the two sides come up with another way of avoiding border checks.
Under the EU withdrawal agreement neither side can unilaterally withdraw from it - but it is meant to be temporary. Under the EU withdrawal agreement, neither side can unilaterally withdraw from it - but it is meant to be temporary.
'Weighed up against alternatives''Weighed up against alternatives'
Speaking in the Commons, Mr Cox said: "I would have preferred to have a seen a clause that allowed us to exit if negotiations had irretrievably broken down but I am prepared to lend my support to this agreement because I do not believe that we are likely to be entrapped in it permanently." Speaking in the Commons, Mr Cox said: "I would have preferred to have seen a clause that allowed us to exit if negotiations had irretrievably broken down, but I am prepared to lend my support to this agreement because I do not believe that we are likely to be entrapped in it permanently."
He went on: "This represents a sensible compromise, it has unattractive elements, unsatisfactory elements for us, but the question for the House is to weigh it up against the other potential alternatives and to assess whether it amounts to a calculated risk that this government and this House should take in these circumstances, weighed up against the realities of the alternatives." He went on: "This represents a sensible compromise; it has unattractive elements, unsatisfactory elements for us, but the question for the House is to weigh it up against the other potential alternatives and to assess whether it amounts to a calculated risk that this government and this House should take in these circumstances, weighed up against the realities of the alternatives."
Ministers are under pressure to publish the full advice Mr Cox gave to the government, with Labour warning of a "constitutional crisis".
MPs voted last month to require the government to lay before Parliament "any legal advice in full".
Mr Cox's statement to the House of Commons will be followed by five days of debate on the proposed Brexit deal, which will get under way on Tuesday.Mr Cox's statement to the House of Commons will be followed by five days of debate on the proposed Brexit deal, which will get under way on Tuesday.
The UK is due to leave the European Union on 29 March, 2019. The UK and the EU have agreed a detailed plan for how Brexit happens, with a draft outline of how they want the future relationship to work.The UK is due to leave the European Union on 29 March, 2019. The UK and the EU have agreed a detailed plan for how Brexit happens, with a draft outline of how they want the future relationship to work.
But the plan has to be backed by both the UK and EU parliaments before 29 March, if the UK is to leave under these terms. If it is not ratified then the UK would be on course to leave the EU without any deal - although a delay to Brexit to allow either a renegotiated deal or a further referendum have been floated as alternatives. But the plan has to be backed by both the UK and EU parliaments before 29 March, if the UK is to leave under these terms.
If it is not ratified then the UK would be on course to leave the EU without any deal - although a delay to Brexit to allow either a renegotiated deal or a further referendum have been floated as alternatives.