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Boris Johnson seeks to head off Brexit rebellion | Boris Johnson seeks to head off Brexit rebellion |
(32 minutes later) | |
Boris Johnson has reached a deal with potential Tory rebels over a bill to rewrite the EU withdrawal agreement, the BBC understands, | Boris Johnson has reached a deal with potential Tory rebels over a bill to rewrite the EU withdrawal agreement, the BBC understands, |
More than 30 Tory MPs were expected to vote for an amendment to the Internal Market Bill next week. | More than 30 Tory MPs were expected to vote for an amendment to the Internal Market Bill next week. |
If passed, Sir Bob Neill's amendment would have given MPs the final say over changes to the withdrawal agreement. | If passed, Sir Bob Neill's amendment would have given MPs the final say over changes to the withdrawal agreement. |
The PM has now promised to give MPs "an extra layer of Parliamentary oversight" it is understood. | |
The BBC's political editor Laura Kuenssberg said the hope from ministers is that this will "prevent rebellion next week". | |
The UK Internal Market Bill cleared its first hurdle in the Commons on Monday. | |
The bill sets out changes to the withdrawal deal Boris Johnson signed with the EU in January. | |
'Specific and limited' | |
Mr Johnson says it is needed to protect the "territorial integrity" of the UK if trade talks with the EU fail. | |
But it has provoked a backlash from the EU, which has threatened legal action - and the possible suspension of trade talks - if it is not withdrawn. | |
Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis last week admitted - in response to a Commons question from Tory MP Sir Bob Neill - that the bill would break international law in a "specific and limited" way. | |
His words prompted the resignation of a senior government law officer and condemnation from all five living former prime ministers, who have warned that it threatens the UK's reputation for upholding treaties and international laws. | |
A number of Tory MPs abstained, or voted against, the bill on Monday - and many of them were expected to back Sir Bob Neill's amendment next week. | |
'Legal safety net' | |
Writing in the I Paper, Sir Bob said his amendment "seeks to put a Parliamentary lock on the powers the government is seeking to give itself". | |
He added: "Taking a sledgehammer to the entire bill would be the wrong approach. | |
"There is a great deal of good in it, with 51 of its 54 clauses fairly innocuous for the large majority. | |
"However, the gravity of the three remaining clauses require, at the very least, additional checks and balances. | |
"My amendment would ensure further Parliamentary approval is secured before the government can discharge them." | |
Speaking earlier, Mr Johnson's official spokesman said the PM and his team "are in conversations with MPs about the bill and the importance of creating the legal safety net". | |
He confirmed that the prime minister had spoken to Sir Bob and said "conversations with MPs will continue". | |
What is the Internal Markets Bill? | |
The bill sets out rules for the operation of the UK internal market - trade between England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - after the end of the Brexit transition period in January. | |
It proposes: | |
The bill explicitly states that these powers should apply even if they are incompatible with international law. | |
Ministers say the legislation is needed to prevent "damaging" tariffs on goods travelling from the rest of the UK to Northern Ireland if negotiations with the EU on a free trade agreement fail. | |
But some senior Conservatives - including former Prime Minister John Major - have warned it risks undermining the UK's reputation as an upholder of international law. | |
The legislation has also proved controversial with the devolved administrations, which are concerned about how the UK's "internal market" will operate post-Brexit and who will set regulations and standards. |