Theresa May summons Cabinet over Brexit as tension mounts after digging in her heels against the EU
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Loading... - Gemma Brown
- 23 Oct 2021
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Theresa May today summoned her Cabinet to debate Brexit as tension mounts over the UK's deadlock with the EU.
The Prime Minister briefed ministers after days of Tory infighting and no sign of movement on the thorny issue of the Northern Ireland border.
Despite an EU summit falling through with no deal last week, she told MPs the terms of Britain's divorce were 95% agreed.
To break the deadlock, she offered to either extend Britain's "transition period" beyond December 2020 - or accept a "backstop" plan with no end date that would keep EU customs rules across the UK.
Both plans enrage Brexiteers.
But last night she threw them a bone by digging in her heels - against the EU. She again rejected any backstop that would set up different rules for Britain compared to Northern Ireland.
And she insisted a transition period must end "well before" May 2022.
The latest display of unrest came amid reports almost 48 - the number needed - Tory MPs have submitted letters to trigger a leadership contest.
Some 44 Brexiteers, including Boris Johnson, have put their names to a public campaign to kill off Theresa May's plan for Brexit.
But there were signs that a series of lurid briefings over the weekend by unnamed backbenchers calling for her to be "knifed" and advising her to "bring her own noose" had backfired, causing MPs to rally behind her.
International Trade Secretary Liam Fox - a prominent Leave campaigner in the referendum - warned it would be a mistake for MPs to move against the Prime Minister at a crucial moment in the Brexit talks.
"We are in a process of negotiation. It would seem to be an act of utter folly to change the Prime Minister at this point," he told Sky News during a visit to New York.
Andrew Mitchell - an ally of former Brexit secretary David Davis who is seen as a possible leadership contender - also said a leadership challenge would be a "mistake".
"I think it is right to give the Prime Minister every support to conclude a deal," he told BBC2's Newsnight.
However, he warned Mrs May could struggle to get the support of the House of Commons for any agreement she brings back from Brussels.
"There is a danger tonight it seems to me that Parliament won't accept that deal or any other deal. That will be a serious problem," he said.
There was further respite for Theresa May when the leading Tory Brexiteer Steve Baker announced he was withdrawing amendments to the Northern Ireland Bill designed to prevent the activation of the so-called Northern Ireland "backstop" - intended to ensure the border remains open after Brexit.
The former Brexit minister - who quit over Mrs May's Chequers plan for leaving the EU - later welcomed her "strong assurance" in the House on maintaining the integrity of the UK.
The Prime Minister told MPs she could not accept the EU's original backstop plan as it would mean imposing controls on goods traded between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, creating "a customs border down the Irish Sea."
While she was ready to explore "every possible option" to break the impasse, she said a "critical" first step should be a legally-binding agreement on a temporary UK-EU joint customs territory to avoid the need for a Northern Ireland-only backstop.
As an alternative, if at the end of the transition at the end of 2020 a deal on the UK's future relationship with the EU was not quite ready, she said it might by preferable to prolong the transition.
However, she stressed any such extension would have to be for a short time only and would have to be over "well before" the scheduled end of the current parliament in May 2022.
